Separate Ways
by queenfluffernutter
Summary: An AU Torchwood - deals with the split of Jack and Ianto and how they might move on - or will they? Tune in to find out.
1. In Which Ianto Wants Tea

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

Metal and Wood. Two things so unalike, yet so grounding. All the surfaces in the kitchen gleaming. The knives stuck in the wooden knife block. The aluminum kettle, canisters and even toaster showing his reflection as he moved around the small room.

It had been a long day and Ianto wanted nothing more than to have a cup of tea, a light snack and take the hottest shower he could stand before falling into his bed. But there had been Erin, the one bright spot in his day. He smiled thinking about her. Today wasn't the first day they had come across one another, oh no, they saw each other a lot. She worked at the bookstore-coffee bar Ianto would sneak out to during lunch most days. Because of her.

Over the course of the last three months, he had learned that she was American – that much was clear from the moment she had asked him if she could help him. American, like Jack, but not quite. He winced a little at the thought of Jack. But that was behind him now, wasn't it? He brushed the thought away with another of this wonderful woman.

She had moved to Cardiff half a year ago, wanting something more. In the States, she was a certified CSI, but once she had gotten here, she found the job she was in now more rewarding. Besides, she and her roommates were trying to get their own capital together to open their own bookstore. He remembered her telling him that she regarded this as research. And then she had flipped her hair. Her beautiful, long, dark hair. Hair that smelled like citrus. But that was beside the point. She was sweet and that made him forget Jack. He needed to forget Jack. Especially since Jack himself had moved on. But again, Ianto pushed the thought from his mind and went to hang his coat.

Pulling a hanger from the closet, he thought. He thought that he was thinking too much, actually. Too much time on his hands now that Jack wasn't hanging around bugging him to watch a movie. Bugging him to go to dinner. Generally bugging him, come to think of it. He was sure then that Erin was not like that at all. She looked more the type to let Ianto decide. She laughed at all his jokes, and admitted to him, shyly, that she was learning Welsh and could do with a few lessons if he had the time. And then she had given him a wink. And her phone number on the napkin of the scone he had purchased. He still hadn't gotten the nerve to call her, even though that had been a week ago.

He looked at the clock. It was early. He had pulled an all-nighter with the crew – investigating yet _another_ Weevil uprising. Sodding Weevils. How he hated them with ever fiber of his being. Almost as much as Jack. The bitterness crept up again and Ianto glanced at the clock again before going to take a shower. Only two minutes had passed. He found himself wondering if Erin was at work yet. Or was this her day off? He found he wasn't sure, but went to take a shower, deciding to skip the tea and just go out and get it. Wasn't it always better when someone else made it, anyway?

He went into his bedroom and looked around. More wood – the bureau, the ornately carved headboard, the armoire – greeted him. On his bureau was a little silver change tray and a couple sets of gleaming cufflinks. He set the contents of his pockets beside them and started the shower.

His clothes went into the hamper – he hated an unnecessary mess – and, moving his towel from the towel bar to the shower bar, he got in and let the hot water run over him.

He smelled like the Hub, all musty and damp. Not the best smell in the world, and he made a mental note to see if it was beginning to seep into his suits. He soaped up and rinsed off, making sure to wash his hair as well, before finally turning off the spray.

He stepped out and dried, inspecting himself in the mirror for stubble before deciding that he could easily go another day. Since he and Jack had split, there was really no need to spiff himself up everyday. He could go back to his old habit of slacking off for a bit. And, he had to admit, it felt good.

Ianto walked back into the bedroom and opened the armoire, amazed that it was such a bleak selection. He had been wearing the suits for so long that he had all but phased out the other clothes he used to wear. Oh, there were the odd tees that he kept to pair with his pajama bottoms, but that was it. He searched for a bit more before remembering that he had stashed a pair of jeans in the armoire's bottom drawer the last time he had arranged. They would have to do until he could get something else.

He pulled them out and set them on the bed. Back to the bureau for a tee that was presentable enough. He settled on one that had _Abercrombie and Fitch_ written on the chest. He definitely would need to do some shopping if he was going to start going casual. Brushing his teeth, he wondered why he was doing this at all. He should be getting sleep, not knowing if Jack would call him again tonight. But he wasn't, was he? He was getting ready to go to see if Erin was working. No, that was wrong. He was going out to get tea – because it tasted better when somebody else made it. _That's right_, he told himself.

He found a pair of jogging shoes near the door – left over from one of those spurts when he thought he could stand to get in shape. Slipping them on without socks was hard, but he managed. And added another item to his list. He reached in the closet where he had put his jacket earlier for the other one hanging and bumped the top shelf enough to cause things to fall out on top of him. He was picking them up and putting them back when he saw the ball cap. Shrugging, he put in on his head and continued to pick up before taking the coat. He pocketed his keys and went out the door, smiling.

**Okay - so - trying something new here. Have the parts of this written and will be posting one a day. Let me know what you think. Oh yeah, and I am going to finish my other stuff once I get this out. I am also waiting to see what happens to the Doctor - so far, I have lost all the nails on my left hand watching and re-watching last weeks eppy. **


	2. In Which Jack Remembers

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Maybe Torchwood Four - which this will link into a bit later, I think...  
**_

Jack leaned back in his chair, hands laced behind his head. He looked around his office with a sigh. It had been a busy day and everyone had been gone for less than an hour. Jack was still there, agonizing over a stack of papers that Owen had tossed on his desk before bidding a hasty retreat. Upon inspection, they were requisition forms and he decided that these were more Ianto's area of expertise as he put them off to the side with a few other things the archivist would have to deal with in the morning. Well, to be fair, later that day. He had told them not to come in until later unless he called with an Emergency. Gwen had been grateful for the chance to go home, she hadn't been spending that much time with Rhys and he was starting to ask what was really going on at work. Owen and Tosh had both loitered until Jack practically hauled them over to the door by their lapels. But Ianto, he was a different story. He was always there after the others, only he and Jack.

Jack had turned to the young man and really looked at him for the first time since he had come back. Ianto looked the same, but there was something below the surface, something Jack could not quite put his finger on. He had always been a quiet man, but now he seemed more closed off than he had been when he first met the man in the woods. Jack supposed that Ianto was still mad, but what could he do? They had both moved on. Well, at least, Jack had. He wasn't sure about Ianto, actually. He thought briefly about talking to him to find out what was going on, but then realized if Ianto needed to talk to him, the Welshman would do just that.

His cell rang from the corner of his desk, snapping Jack out his thoughts. He looked at the display and smiled. It was Susan. He cleared his throat and answered, leaning his elbows on the desk as he did so. "Captain Jack Harkness."

There was a laugh from the other end. "Well, Captain Jack Harkness, I was wondering if you were going to be coming by today or if you were going to sulk around that tiny tourism office all day."

He relaxed more, laying his head on his arms, "I thought I'd come over. I was just going to call you actually."

"Liar," she joked. "That charming American accent may work on Cardiff girls, but you forget – I am immune."

"No, really, I was," He insisted, a smile in his voice over being caught.

"Well, then, make it fast. I have to get Tallulah off to school, and then my day is empty." Jack could hear the sounds of her making lunches as she talked. "So hurry it up!"

Jack found himself laughing at the receiver. "Sure thing. Let me just get my coat and close up here."

He hung up the phone and looked around the room again. It was still his office, even after his absence. Gwen and Ianto had fought over whether they should have changed it around for him, but, in the end, Ianto had won. Gwen had appointed herself as the leader in that time and he supposed that she wanted the office. But now that was water under the bridge. All of it was. The life he had before he left was not the one that he had now. Not by any stretch. Not that he was complaining.

He had met her a couple months after he had come home from the year that never was. He and Ianto had tried, given it their best effort, but it just wasn't to be. They had both decided that their moment had moved on and that they should pursue something different. A week later, Jack had bumped into Susan. Literally.

She was coming out the grocery as he was coming in, baby on her hip and the other arm wrapped around a grocery bag. She hadn't been looking where she was going, as she was turned around talking to a scowling girl dressed in mostly black with heavy eyeliner. Jack's mind had been in the clouds thinking about Beth, the woman they had tried to help, only to have it go all wrong. They had collided with one another and her groceries had gone everywhere. Jack could still remember the look on her face at that very moment. They both started to pick up her things before they rolled too far and had bumped heads. Finally, she had thrust the baby in his arms without thinking and unzipped the large bag she had been carrying and began to shove loose oranges and canned goods into it, handing a loaf of bread and some bananas to the girl that was with her. When she had finished and noticed that Jack was now holding her son, she had apologized. Jack let his mind drift back…

"I am _so_ sorry!" She took the boy back from the man in front of her. The very dashing man in front of her. The dashing man with the bright blue eyes.

"No problem. It was my fault for not looking." Jack reached to tickle the boy's chin. "He's cute."

"Thanks, I made him myself." A look of horror crossed her face when she realized what she had just said. "What I meant to say was…"

Jack cut her off with a chuckle. "That's fine, I knew what you meant. Do you need any help?"

She looked back at the girl again, who was now scowling and he was sure he had seen her roll her eyes. "No, Tallulah and I can get it. But thank you."

"No problem." He had watched as they walked down the street before going in himself.

And now, they had been dating for six months. Not that it had been easy to get her to go out with him, not by any means. That was another of Jack's favorite memories.

A few days later, he had been strolling in the plaza outside the Plass and noticed a woman sitting on a bench outside having lunch. She was peeling an orange. Or at least trying, but it looked like the orange was winning. Jack couldn't resist sitting next to her.

"Can I help you?" She asked, never looking from the fruit she was peeling.

He motioned to said fruit. "Having a bit of trouble?"

She sighed and turned to him, her shoulders falling. "Yes. Do you mind?"

"No problem." He took a pocket knife from his pocket and made a small nick before he began to peel it.

Her face froze in the smile that she held. She recognized the voice as the one of the man she had all but barreled into. She was horrified. She hoped he wouldn't remember. "Thanks."

He handed it back, sans peel. "My pleasure. How is your son doing?"

"He's fine. Listen, I'm sorry about the other day…" She was talking fast, not noticing that Jack was smiling at her.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "No big deal, really."

She ate a segment and offered him one, which he took. They sat in silence for a bit before Jack spoke again. "What brings you out here?"

She motioned to the Millennium Centre, "I work there. It's lunch."

"Ahhhh…that explains it." Jack rubbed at his eyebrow in thought. "Are you American?"

The woman smiled. "Yeah. What was the dead giveaway?" She laughed a little.

"Well, it was hard, but I think it was a subtle difference in your voice." He pulled out the Harkness smirk for her.

"You are too – right?" He could hear the southern twang in her voice deepen a little.

"Uh, yeah, mostly." It was a good enough cover story, but he hated to tell lies, so he left it at that, hoping she wouldn't ask more. She didn't.

"Imagine that! All of Cardiff and here I sit talking to another American! What do you think the chances of that are?" Her shoulders relaxed and she found herself smiling.

They had talked for a while longer before she had looked at her watch and declared it time to go. Somehow, he had gotten her name and number before walking her to the door. Then he had walked back to the Hub and begun to plan just what he would say to her when he called.

His phone rang again and he picked it up, still staring. "Harkness."

"Harkness? You coming over?" The voice from earlier filled his ears.

"Yes, really am leaving now, honest." He reached for his coat and left the room, still on the phone.

"Good, Tallulah is gone and Joey is about to go down for his first nap." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"I would kill for a shower." He went out the tourist center door and locked it.

"We'll talk about it when you get here."

"Deal."

**Taking a break now as son #1 is arguing with himself. No, not the kid the one in the story is based on - the oldest boy. I have four kids in RL, so some had to be cut. (Have you ever tried to chase four kids around a fic? Don't. It ain't pretty.) Besides, the middle ones are being used in a play Taryn (Yikes! She's real!) and I are writing. Let me know what you guys are thinking about this. Also, want to clear up that I am not just taking the names of people I know, but the real personalities.**


	3. In Which Ianto smiles

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.  
**_

He was standing outside of the bookstore, wondering if he had completely lost his mind. Did he really need tea that badly? Of course he did! Taking a deep breath, he strode inside and up to the counter where she was working. It took her a moment to register who he was, but when she recognized him, her face lit up and she leaned on the counter.

"What do you want today, Mr. Jones?" There it was – her charmingly clear American accent. Not a bit of a Welsh lilt. And the hair toss; can't forget the way she tosses that ponytail around.

"Uh…" Ianto looked up at the menu, but secretly knowing exactly what he was going to order. "I'll take a Hazelnut Latte, no, make that a steamed milk with a touch of peppermint. Yeah."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing today, lounging?"

He put his hands in his back pockets and pushed down as he looked at the ground, the counter, anything but her. "Why d'ya ask?"

"The look." She motioned with the pen she had used to write down his order. "And the steamed milk – Mr. Jones, you will fall right asleep!"

He looked up at her, but only saw a bit of her as the brim of his hat was in his way. Erin found this too cute and smiled warmly at him. "I'm not at work right now, doesn't matter."

_How cute is it when he does that? And this new look? Improvement!_ Erin thought as she handed the paper over to the girl she was working for. "Hey, you know what? I get off in like fifteen minutes – you wanna go do something?"

Ianto felt all the breath go out of him and tried to hide it with a cough. He nodded as he covered his mouth.

Erin grinned broadly at him. This was her chance to go out with the handsome banker that had stopped in for lunch, or at least a hot beverage, for the last three months. "Okay, tell you what – I am going to go and clean up this espresso machine that April made a giant mess of, count my drawer, and then I'll meet you out here."

"Sure," Ianto answered automatically, trying not to think.

"Great! April is not really good with the machine. Sometimes, I wish she would just refrain from touching it!" She laughed as she picked up a cleaning rag and the man felt his heart jump a little.

"Right. Over there then?" He changed the subject, pointing to a row of couches near the window.

"Yeah, that's as good a place as any other." Erin looked at him for a minute, taking in his face, wondering what was different about it. "Here – take this cookie. It will help keep you awake."

Ianto took the wrapped up napkin and went to sit on the designated couch, but not before thanking her with his eyes. The sofa was soft and yielding, just right for sitting in and reading a book while having a wonderful hazelnut espresso, double shot, light on the skim milk. He made a mental note to try that the next time and leaned his head on the back of the couch, never meaning to fall asleep.

At the feeling of someone watching him, his eyes popped open. "Whut?" he managed to croak out.

"Nothing, Sleeping Beauty. You must work long hours." Erin reached to adjust his cap without thinking. _How cute is he?_

Ianto straightened in his seat, embarrassed. _Smooth move, Cassanova. Great way to start._ "Yeah, uh, something like that."

"Are you ready?" Erin stood, draping her coat over her arm and offering her hand to the man who was sunken into the comfort of the couch.

Ianto took it and stood, noticing the height difference between them. She was just tall enough that, if he were to sweep her up in his arms, he could rest his chin on her head. Ianto shook his head of the thought, wondering just where it had come from. Sure, he and Jack had decided to end it, knowing that it would cause more pain the longer they let it go on. They had agreed that there was something there but that it wasn't fair for either of them to continue. And they had been doing just fine until Jack had met _someone_. A female someone. A female someone who was taking up all of his non-work time. He tried not to think about it as he looked at Erin, who was looking at him with what was either bemusement or pity, he really wasn't sure.

"Ianto?" Erin reached out for his shoulder. He could feel the heat as her hand rested there and it took everything he had in him not to turn to look at the hand itself, but rather, focus in her face. "You okay? We could do this another day if ya want."

He shook his head and felt a smile growing across his face. He hadn't smiled like that in a while and it felt good. "No, no, let's go get something to eat – you hungry?"

She smiled warmly back. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Let's do that. I could murder some fries!"

A small chuckle was forming in Ianto's throat. "Ahhh…then you would be the infamous Chip-Murdering Barista that I have been hearing about so much in the news." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Guilty. You aren't going to turn me in are you?" She raised her hands in surrender and played along.

"No, no, your secret is safe with me." Ianto smiled.

Erin let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and they both broke out in laughter. When it had subsided, Ianto offered her his arm and they left the bookstore, Ianto feeling better than he had in a long time.

**Okay, so they get their first "date". How do you guys feel this is going? More reviews, the faster I post!**


	4. In Which the Team Asks

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. However, I still have a used TARDIS for sale...  
**_

It was after five when everyone started showing up – just as Jack had told them. Tosh was the first, settling in and arranging things before she got started. Gwen was next, carrying a box of doughnuts. Ianto followed her in, and, nodding to all of then, went to go and start the coffee. Owen sauntered in a moment later, setting up for the autopsy he knew that he had to get to later this morning.

Once the coffee was finished, everyone adjourned to the conference room to share a spartan breakfast and a little gossip. Sitting around the table, they noticed that Jack wasn't there. Tosh looked, at Ianto, but he just shrugged.

"Anyone seen the Boss?" Owen asked, throwing his feet on the table.

"Not me," Ianto reiterated, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "Haven't seen him since last night."

Gwen leaned toward Ianto, "How are you doing?"

"I'm not sure what you mean." Everyone was waiting to see how he would answer.

"Come on, Ianto. We know that you and Jack had something, something that ended when he was gone and never really came back." Gwen dared him to say otherwise.

A smile broke out on Ianto's face. "Not that it's anybody's business but mine, but I met someone."

Tosh choked a bit on the coffee she was drinking. "When were you going to tell us?"

"Well, it's not even definite. We hung out today, but, you know…" Ianto felt himself beginning to blush.

"No, TeaBoy, we bloody well don't!" Owen was suddenly interested. "This is bound to be good, though."

"Owen, leave it." Tosh's warning was stern and cold.

"No, no, that's okay." Ianto admitted. And it was; it felt good to be able to say it. "Really. She's great!"

Owen gasped audibly. "A woman?! What the hell is going on with the world when _he_ gets a woman to go out with him and _I_ can't?"

"Must be your sparkling personality." Ianto sniped back.

"She's ugly," Owen hypothesized, taking his feet from the table and leaning in to listen better.

"She's not." He defended.

"Owen's just jealous," Gwen coaxed, kicking the doctor under the table as she spoke.

There was the sound of the cog rolling away and the four of them snapped their heads to see Jack coming in, pulling off his coat and heading for the conference room. "Everyone here?" He stopped when he reached the door. "What did I miss?"

Ianto smiled at the others and picked up the box of donuts. "Just these. Sit, I'll go get your coffee."

Jack arched an eyebrow and watched him leave the room before turning to the others who were mysteriously silent. "What is going on here? Hen party I wasn't invited to?"

"Jack," Gwen whispered loudly, "Ianto has a girlfriend."

They watched as his face went from amusement to rejection. "Good. Good for him." He swallowed hard and sat at his usual place at the head of the table with a doughnut.

Ianto came back to the silence and sat, aware that everyone was watching as he handed Jack the steaming mug. "What?"

"Nothing," Jack lied. "You look different is all."

"Different like how?" Ianto sat, a confused look on his face.

"Happy." Owen mumbled into his own mug before drinking deeply.

Jack felt the need to change the subject. He could discuss this with Ianto at a better time. "So, the Weevils we were tracking yesterday – anything different about them?"

"Nothing on them that was new," Tosh answered.

"Haven't gotten around to autopsies, but nothing remarkable about their outward appearance," Owen added, tapping his pen on the clipboard in from of him.

"No one even really saw them at all, Jack," Gwen concluded.

Jack focused on Ianto. The air felt heavy, thick. "What? I was with Gwen – we tracked them down. She was right when she said no one saw them – no retcon was needed, none was used."

"And?" Jack never moved his eyes.

"And…uh…they take their tea with two lumps?" Ianto wasn't sure what the man was asking him.

"Right, good job." Jack laughed in spite of himself. "Now, let's get out there and wait for some excitement."

Owen grumbled and swiped another doughnut before going down to the autopsy room.

"That's unsanitary, you know that, right, Owen?" Tosh informed him as she followed.

"Thank you so much for that, Tosh. Being trained in sanitary conditions and containment methods, you would think I would realize that, wouldn't you?" Owen smirked.

Tosh shook her head at him and went to go and see if there was anything new going on in the city.

Gwen patted Ianto on the arm as she left and he looked up at her and smiled. "I'll call Andy and see if there has been anything going on around town."

"Thanks," Jack said, still looking at Ianto.

There was a moment after Gwen left that the two men stared at one another. Finally, Ianto spoke, "What?"

Jack was surprised by the abruptness of the question, not at all like the Ianto he knew. "I'm sorry?"

"What's going on, Jack?" Ianto stood and walked to where Jack sat.

"Yes, Ianto, what _is_ going on?" Jack looked up at him.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Ianto assured him.

"You know you can talk to me anytime, right?" Jack stood to face him.

"Yes, sir." He thought for a moment how Jack's new girlfriend would feel if he were to call while they were out. He briefly thought about doing it just to test him, but let the thought fall to the floor when he remembered Erin.

"Are you really okay?" He laid his hand on Ianto's shoulder. "You seem, well, _off_ tonight."

Ianto looked at the floor and smiled again. "I met someone." He raised his eyes to look at Jack.

He feigned shock and then let a smile creep across his face. "I'm happy for you,Yan. I was worried about you."

"Thanks." He didn't know how to feel about Jack at that moment. He wanted to be mad at him, but he couldn't – he was just too happy. "If you'll excuse me – things to file…"

"Yeah," Jack watched him leave before taking another doughnut and closing the box. He really was happy for Ianto, why couldn't he just let it be?

He crammed the rest in his mouth and, taking his mug, went to his own office to go thru the pile of papers he had left there that morning. He stretched and sat down, looking over at a frame on his desk. It was the team, taken at the last Christmas party they had had. Ianto had set the timer and run into the frame to grab onto Jack as the flash went off. And there was Rhys, standing with his arms around Gwen, both of them beaming at the camera. Gwen's little sister Anwen was there as well and she was caught, forever in time, giving a little grin in Ianto's direction. Tosh had on antlers and looked positively smitten with Owen, who had had a few too many and was all but clinging to her.

"Those were the days," Jack said to himself, more than a little sad. But he was glad to hear that Ianto was doing well. Hell, how could he begrudge the man when he was in a relationship himself – one he actually felt might be good for him. He sighed and started in on the pile of papers in front of him, making a mental note that if it was still dead at midnight, he was kicking everyone out.

**Tension! Poor Jack, poor Ianto. Thanks for the glowing reviews, BTW. I think this is going to be updated twice a day until all parts are up - most of it is already written, so it's hard to keep from putting all the parts up. Grrr my impatience! Reviews are love and more makes me post faster!  
**


	5. In Which We Meet the Americans

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Well, there were three bites on the TARDIS, but so far no one had come to get it - price reduced!  
**_

Susan was putting the last of the dishes in the washer when Erin came in, putting her coat on the back of a chair before continuing into the kitchen.

"You're back late," Susan commented, "There's a plate for you in the microwave if you're hungry."

"Thanks," Erin said, opening the fridge for a coke before going to get the plate. "I'm starving!"

Wiping her hands, Susan sat with Erin. "So, tell me how it went! Did he come in today?" Susan was used to the daily updates on the mysterious banker who came in day after day without fail.

"Better," Erin answered, smiling, "He's the reason I'm late." She took a bite of the hamburger and smiled.

The older woman squealed and jumped up to dance around the kitchen. Erin smiled and, after a minute of watching her friend, joined her. They were dancing around and giggling when Tallulah came into the room, her hair up in a towel.

"Mom, what is goin' on?" She stumbled into the light and saw Erin. "Oh, hi, Erin."

"Hey, Lulu. Your mom and I were just talking about work." She went back to her chair and sat.

"I guess that's why I heard the word 'banker'. Did that guy come in again?" She went to the fridge to get her own drink before sitting down.

"Yeah, he did, Lu." Erin was always patient with her roommate's kids, they were well-behaved and smart, very easy to deal with. "And we went out today after work."

Tallulah clapped her hands together quickly in excitement and leaned in to hear more of the story.

"Is that all?" Susan asked. "No plans for tomorrow?"

"I have to work, maybe he'll be in." Erin smiled. "Before we go on our first real date tomorrow night, that is!"

The girls in the kitchen all started excited squeals again, which is what the woman that threw the door open singing "Hey Big Spender" came into. All at once, everyone was joined in song, something that Taryn was famous for getting others to do.

Once the song was over, they collapsed back into the chairs and looked at one another. In the room were now four woman ranging in age from 12 to 34, and all of them shared the common bond of having come from America together to pursue their dreams. The oldest had brought her two children with her, one of them being the youngest one in the room now. The baby, the only boy in the house, was, by now, sleeping soundly in his crib, snuggled under his fuzzy blanket with the cars on it and clutching his prized possession – a stuffed Nigel from the movie "The Wild". They were all acutely aware that something was changing for them. Something they had never expected.

"How's Jack?" Taryn asked, taking the drink that Tallulah had sitting in front of her and taking a sip.

Tallulah rolled her eyes at the mention of her mother's boyfriend – it wasn't that she didn't like him, but she had seen a few men come and go in her mother's life since she was born, most notably Joey's father, and she was afraid to get too close to any of them now. But she _did_ have to admit that there was something charming about this man. He was somehow different, if just the way he dressed. Her mother and he made quite the pair – he dressed like pictures Tallulah had seen of men in the 1940's and her own mother was stuck in some odd hippie phase. She had already made a silent vow to burn every broomstick skirt in her mother's closet if they lasted another year.

"He's great. He was here until about 4:30. He had a day off work." Susan's voice went a bit dreamy thinking about the tall man with the dark hair and blue eyes. They were easy to get lost in, that much was true. But there was something else about him that she was drawn to – and it wasn't the fact that he was an American – it was something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"When are we going to get to meet Mystery Banker?" Tallulah changed the subject.

"You got to talk to Mystery Banker?!" Taryn turned to Erin.

"They went on a date!" Susan answered for her.

"Does he have a name?" Taryn was still looking at Erin.

"Ianto." Her eyes glazed over a little at the pronunciation. "Ianto Jones."

"Does he have one of those cute accents? Please tell me that he does!" Taryn was getting excited for her friend now. "And, oh! Better! Does he have single friends?"

Erin laughed, "You can ask him yourself. I invited him over for dinner this Sunday, if that's okay…"

"Of course it's okay!" Susan said. "You know we always have extra people here on Sunday – the more the merrier!"

"So we get to meet him then?" Tallulah was eager to meet the person that Erin had described the drink order of everyday for the last three months.

"Yep." Erin blushed a little. "But right now, I need to go and get ready for work tomorrow. Thanks for dinner, Susan."

"No problem – which reminds me, Taryn, yours is in the micro as well." Susan was trying to pull her daughter out of the chair and coax her towards her room.

"Thanks, I'm famished! I had auditions all day, and, let me tell you, that's rough! Tomorrow I have an appointment with my publisher and the theater that wants to produce the play – did I tell you?" She was on her feet and punching buttons on the micro as she rattled off her news.

That was the thing about Taryn – she was tireless. Already, she had talked the local theater to produce two of her plays and was in negotiations for the third. In addition to that, she was on the stage a lot and had had a novel published in the last year with talks of another. She was the one who wanted to own the bookstore the most – she had the idea to only feature local artists to make it possible for really great writers that would normally go unnoticed to shine.

"Wow, how are you going to find time to sleep for the next week?" Susan had managed to get Tallulah up and was now pushing her towards the hall.

"I'll manage. I'm afraid if I stop to think about it now that I'll crumble." Taryn joked, testing the temperature of her food by pushing her finger into the middle of her french fries.

"Probably a good idea." Susan agreed, "Goodnight, Tallulah."

Tallulah smiled at her mom. "Geez, what am I, some kind of kid?"

"Uh, yeah, Lu. Goodnight!" Taryn was putting ketchup on her burger, "See ya in the morning."

With that, the pre-teen made her way down the hall to her room, leaving Taryn and Susan alone in the kitchen. Taryn waited until she heard her door shut before turning to her friend. "You're going to think I'm crazy, Sue."

"Come on, Taryn, how long have we been friends? And then, how many times have I thought you were crazy only to be proven wrong?" She smiled as she spoke.

"No really, you're going to think I'm a complete nutter, for real this time." Taryn put her burger down and turned to Susan. "I think that I'm being followed."

Susan became concerned. There was a man last year that had followed Taryn around claiming to be her boyfriend. It had started out innocent, but had turned into a fiasco by the time they caught up with the man. She was quick to hope that this was not another case of that.

"And before you say anything," Taryn continued, "this is not another 'Matt'-type situation."

That was a big relief – Susan let out the breath she had been holding. "Then what makes you think you are being followed?"

"Well, there is this man that I keep seeing everywhere. He's about six feet tall with brown hair that's always freshly mussed and brown eyes. Everytime I see him, he is going to make a phone call in a blue police box, so, I _assume_ he has something to do with the police. Weird, huh?"

"It is." Susan agreed. "Listen, if you see him tomorrow, call me – if he's still messing with you, I'll see if Jack can help, okay?"

"Sure thing, thanks."

"Not a problem – what are friends for? I'm off to bed – be sure and turn lights off when you go downstairs." Susan yawned and waved at her friend as she shuffled down the hall.

Taryn sat and finished her dinner. She hadn't told Susan the whole story. Not the part about how that same man had walked up to her earlier in the week and smiled warmly, as if he had always known her before handing her a note with one word on it. "Run." That's all it had said, and when she had read it, and followed the instructions on a lark, she had avoided being in the way of two cars who crashed up just moments later – right where she had been standing. Not one to dwell on those things, she finished and washed her plate before turning off lights and humming to herself as she went to her room.

**Who did Taryn meet? LOL Poor thing is run ragged with her career and now this...wonder how that's going to work out for her. And before I forget - thankies to those who have been reading and reviewing: Helen Pattskyn, PerGirl13, Boo26, and pinksocks! Have a great holiday, pinksocks! We'll miss you but we'll be right here when you get back!**


	6. In Which the Mystery is Solved

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. And I sold that TARDIS - I just hope they don't find out I painted a refrigerator box blue and drew interesting patterns on the walls...  
**_

It was Sunday and the girls were doing their usual scramble to get ready before anyone came over. This week, they had decided on breaded pork chops, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, corn on the cob, green beans and biscuits. The smells wafted through the house in a heady mixture, making anyone who left the house and came back in all but drool.

Jack was on time, as usual, and, giving Susan a quick kiss, leaned on the counter as she put everything into serving containers. "Where's Lulu?" Jack asked, looking around.

"I dunno – probably seeing how much eyeliner she can get on," Susan hypothesized. "But you can help me here. Take that stack of plates and go set the table."

Jack flashed a grin at her. "What's the magic word?"

Susan merely stared at him. "Now. Thanks."

He mock-saluted her as he picked up the stack of plates and the silverware she had laid out. "Why are there six plates here?" He called from the table.

"We have someone new coming this week – Erin invited her Mystery Banker." Susan walked the first of the bowls to the table.

"Hmmm." Jack thought for a moment. "So Joey and I won't be the only men here this week? He's going to be heartbroken that he won't be getting as much attention."

"I'm sorry, did you say Joey or Jack?" she teased him as she went back for the platter with the pork chops on it.

He mock hmphed as he finished setting the places. "That wasn't fair."

"I'll make it up to you later." There was a knock on the door. "ERIN!"

Erin appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a classic little black dress, her hair swept up in a clamp. "How do I look?" She did an experimental twirl.

Jack gave her a thumbs up as he reached down to sweep the little boy that was running by him up. "Whatcha think, Joe? Doesn't Auntie Erin look hot?"

The little boy smiled and, pointing with a finger wet from being chewed on, repeated, "Hot."

"See there? He's learning!" Jack laughed and kissed the boy in the forehead, holding him close, his hand on the back of his blonde head.

"Mom said not to teach him that," Tallulah came in and reminded the Captain.

"Your mom also told you not to wear so much eyeliner – looks like neither one of us listens…" Jack was cheeky right back.

"Watch that," Taryn warned, swiping a chunk of biscuit from the basket. "I swear she has hidden ears."

Susan called from the hallway, "_And_ an extra set of eyes. Please, everyone be on your best behavior!"

"You just got me in trouble, Lu," Jack accused playfully, putting the baby in his seat and breaking a biscuit in half to give to him.

"_You_ got you in trouble, Jack," Tallulah answered, going into the front room to greet the guest.

Susan rolled her eyes at the two of them as she put glasses at the table. "Jack, can you bring the rest of the stuff over here?"

"Sure thing, sweetie." He was up and out of his seat before she had even finished asking.

Susan watched as he carried plates and bowls and little extras to the table. He was really starting to grow on her. And Tallulah liked him, no matter what she said nor how she acted. He was good for her and she loved that Joey had someone to roughhouse with. He was getting at the age where he wanted nothing more than to play with cars and balls and throw himself off things with wild abandon, secure in the knowledge that there would be someone to catch him.

Erin had finally reached the door and opened it, revealing her Mystery Banker. He smiled and waved at everyone who was standing there, and Susan noticed that Jack had busied himself with the task of fixing the baby's plate so that he wouldn't have to look the other man in the eyes too soon.

"Everyone, dinner's ready!" She called, taking her own seat.

Tallulah was the first to appear and take her seat, on the other side of Jack, who sat at the head of the table. She whispered to her mother, directly across from her. "He _is_ cute!"

Jack pretended not to hear and pulled the high chair closer to give Joey his food. Taryn took her seat on the other side of Susan and Erin took hers next to Tallulah, leaving the only the other end of the table open for Ianto. As of this point, he had not been introduced, so Taryn stepped in.

"What's his name, Erin?" She asked, taking the plate of pork chops that was passed to her.

Erin smiled at him, letting him know that was his cue to answer. He had walked into the room and sat, a little nervous and, therefore, not looking around too much. "Ianto." Three syllables that made Jack's head whip his head from where he had been looking to right in front of him.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Jack spoke, "Nice to meet the guy that has been taking up our Erin's thoughts for a good three months."

Ianto played it cool as he let an embarrassed chuckle escape. "And it's nice to meet you as well, sir."

"Oh, for Pete's Sake, Ianto!" Tallulah spat out. "That's Jack! No need to call him 'sir'!"

This earned looks from both Susan and Jack to the surly tween. "Watch it, young lady," was the warning issued in stereo.

"Tough crowd," she mumbled as she took a biscuit.

"I'm Taryn," she offered up with the plate of chops. "Nice to meet you."

Ianto took the plate and selected before passing to Erin. "Not regretting this are you?" She asked, watching him shift a bit in his seat.

"Not at all." He was looking at Erin for the moment, but when she turned to pass the plate to the young girl at the end, he chanced a look at Jack. And found him looking in his direction, blue eyes unreadable.

"And that's Susan, Tallulah – she's Susan's daughter, and Joseph Danger – his name is too fun not to use the whole thing. Meet my family, such as it is." Erin laughed, taking her own biscuit.

Ianto nodded shyly at them all before smiling at Erin again.

"I hope you like it." Susan said, putting green beans on her plate and passing the bowl to Taryn, who made a face before passing it to the Welshman.

"It looks good." He said, taking some and passing to Erin.

"Yeah, well, we do this every week." Erin told him. "Susan still cooks like she did when they lived in Texas."

"Texas?" Ianto asked. "You're from Texas?"

"I'm not." Erin answered. "That's where Taryn and Susan lived before here."

"But we aren't even from there." Taryn laughed.

"Where then?" Ianto asked, looking to Erin for answers.

"Susan is from Georgia," Jack answered, never looking up. "And I _think_ Taryn is from California."

Ianto turned from Erin. Jack was looking up at him, stopped in mid-bite. There were five sets of eyes looking at him, and he was very aware of it. "Whut?"

Susan shot him a look that she usually reserved for the kids and kicked him under the table. "Nothing." She smiled at him sweetly.

Jack looked fully at Ianto, who was now trying to stifle a laugh. He tried to read the younger man's face, but found nothing. How was it that he was sitting here? How could he not have known that this was the man that Erin had been talking about? More importantly, how was this all going to play out in the end? Ianto seemed to be okay with it, but Jack felt like he could cut the air with a knife. Maybe it was just on his part.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Erin asked. "You're usually the entertainment around here."

"Nothing, Er. Just thinking." He looked over at Susan, who was still making _that face_. "Did you want a story?"

"Ianto? Do you want to hear one of Jack's famous stories?" Erin turned to him, placing her hand on his arm. "He has some of the most outrageous stories."

"Sure." Ianto was smiling warmly on the outside, but his voice hinted that he may not really want to. Jack ignored that and started.

"Well, you know how they put that mass hallucination in the water supply a few years ago? Recently, people they thought were dead are showing up." He looked only at Ianto as he spoke.

"Jack," Susan's warning voice, "Not the time nor place for this story…"

"No, go on, I would love to hear this," Ianto held his fork and set his mouth, blue eyes locked with the ones across the table. The girls half-expected them to slowly stand as they talked.

"Yeah, there has been talk of some of those on the list being not being dead but merely having amnesia. Wouldn't that be good news, Ianto? Did you lose somebody there? I did – I lost some very good friends." Jack's look was hard as he didn't break eye contact.

"I lost someone too." Ianto's voice was a harsh whisper. "But you know that, don't you Captain Harkness?"

Tallulah looked at her mother, who was reaching for Jack's arm to calm him down. Erin was looking from Ianto to Jack, hoping that this would stop soon and wondering if she had made a mistake bringing him here. "Jack, please stop…"

His eyes still fixed on the man at the other end, he let a harsh chuckle escape. "That's right – I think I read your girlfriend Lisa's name in the paper. They interviewed you on the news, didn't they?"

"JACK!" Susan hissed through her teeth now. "Ianto, I am sorry…"

Ianto balled his fists for a moment before taking a deep breath. Taryn was scooting closer to Susan, hoping she would be able to avoid any crossfire.

"Mom? Drinks?" Tallulah broke the tension, holding her empty glass as an example.

"That's what I forgot! Jack, do you wanna help me?" She put her hand on his arm and he could feel the warmth, even through his shirt sleeve.

The man was up on his feet almost instantly. "Lulu, you got Joe?"

"Yeah." She was spooning beans onto her plate by now.

Susan got up and Jack followed. When they were in the kitchen, he leaned into her neck as if to kiss her, but instead began a whisper. "I know him. Ianto."

She reached into the fridge for iced tea and bottled water. "How?"

"I…uh…well…can we go and talk about this in the other room for a bit?" He was reaching above her for one of the baby's cup to fill.

She looked into his eyes and, knowing it was serious, answered, "Sure. If you need to talk, I am here. Let me just put this at the table, okay?"

He did kiss her this time, then sighed, "Thanks." Handing her the sippee, he walked down the hall to her room.

"Excuse me one moment," Susan said, setting the drinks on the table and smiling at the guest. "I'll be right back."

Taryn and Erin started a lively conversation about things that went on in the house daily, trying to draw Ianto out of his shell, and from what Susan could hear by the time she reached the end of the hall was that it was working.

"Jack, what is it?" The sight of the man sitting on the edge of her bed with his head in his hands concerned her. She sat beside him.

"It's complicated," he admitted, but continued, "Do you remember how I said the relationship that I had before you was ended by agreement?" He touched her hand.

"Yeah, and?" He was scaring her a bit, and she was sure he could tell – he was busy trying to pull her onto his lap.

"Well, that's him." There. It was out and he felt better. He hadn't said anything to her for fear it would ruin something good that they had going. He looked at her face for a sign of how she was going to react, but found the same face there that he had found since the day they had met.

She flung her arms around him. "Oh, Gods, Jack! You had me scared! I thought you were going to say he was a hired assassin that was after you and you only had time for one quick shag before he shot you and took your body in for the ransom that was rightfully his!"

"Been writing lately?" He half-smiled up at her, hugged her tight to him.

She bit her lip – something she did whenever he could tell exactly where her weird moods were coming from. "I suppose so, yeah."

He found himself laughing at the thought of Ianto being a hired assassin. Now _that_ was a picture! "But you aren't mad?"

"Look, we agreed that whoever we dated in the past would stay there. You can no more help that he's going out with one of my best friends than you can control time and space. Don't be silly!" She pulled herself out of his lap and stood. "Besides, that would be a bit like you getting angry at me for dating the men that I had kids with." She kissed him on the forehead before rejoining the others.

Jack sat on the bed for a moment, thinking. It _was_ a bit like being jealous of the men in Susan's past, he decided. Only, he had had more time to be with far more people. That was another thing that he wondered about – when the right time to tell her the truth about him. Not that he had been hiding it, she just never really asked. She took him at face value, which was rather nice. He looked at his watch and noticed he had been brooding for ten minutes – nine longer than he had meant to. With a heavy sigh, he walked out to join everyone else.

**Okay, so, here we go - I had to take a break for a bit to make instant oatmeal and was shocked to realize that we use two boxes of the good stuff when we have a full family breakfast around here - lol. And my Earl Gray was too hot, so I burned my lip. I need a teaboy! Hoping that everyone is still enjoying!**


	7. In Which There is a Different Fight

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Bad news, they figured out that it wasn't a real TARDIS. Good news, I got to keep my kneecaps.  
**_

Jack walked back into the room in time to hear his name being spoken with a Welsh accent. "So I say to Jack, we can't just leave him there! Jack swoops in and saves the day – as always." And, suddenly, just like that, everything Jack had said before was forgotten, buried somewhere deep in Ianto.

The older man took his seat at the head of the table. "Are you talking about the time that we found that guy that had been mugged behind the tourist center?" He picked up his fork and knife to cut his meat.

"Yeah – that's the time…" Ianto's eyes shone as he looked up at Jack.

"So you _don't_ work for a bank?" Taryn was a little confused.

Ianto shook his head. "No, Jack and I work at the Tourist Office. He's my boss." He was a bit shy in meeting Erin's eyes. "I'm sorry if you thought different."

"No, but I am mad at _you_," She turned to Jack. "_You_ knew he was working there and never introduced us. _You_ let me go on and on about this mystery man that came into the bookstore and _you_ never said a word! _You_ should be ashamed, Jack Harkness!" Her tone was only slightly playful.

"Honestly, Erin, I had no clue this was the guy you were talking about – he usually makes _us_ coffee." He thought for a moment before continuing. "Actually, I am shocked to learn that you go out for it, Yan. Never would have thought anyone's coffee would satisfy you as much as yours."

"You mean this is _that_ Ianto?" Susan sounded as if she was in awe. "You _have_ to show me how you do it! It's because of you that he won't drink my coffee – says it tastes like truck stop coffee to him."

Ianto nodded in a way that was purely him, causing Erin to blush for some reason. "I can do that after dinner if you want."

"Great! We can have coffee and play Monopoly!" Susan was excited as she reached for Jack's hand.

"Oh no," Taryn said, pointing her fork at Susan. "She cheats – she always cheats!"

"Taryn, be real. How can you cheat at Monopoly?" Susan gave her a look. "I'm not even the banker, that's Lu's job."

"I don't know how you do it, but you do. Back me up on this Erin, please?" She was looking at the woman sitting across from her with a pitiful expression.

"She does seem to win a lot…" Erin mused while looking at her date.

"Hello, people, _strategy_! Jack, are you going to let them talk to me like that?" She turned to him.

He held his hands in defense. "I'm staying out of this."

"I dunno, might be fun." The man at the other end of the table said. "I have a rather good strategy myself."

"Then the game is on!" Susan rubbed her hands together and smiled.

"You see? She does that and you know she's cooking something up!" Taryn was accusing again.

"You're just jealous," Susan teased, turning to her friend and sticking out her tongue.

"I'll rip it out." Taryn threatened, holding a butter knife and growling.

Ianto shot a look at Erin, who just shook her head. "No, they do this _all the time_. It'll stop in a minute."

"You wouldn't dare!" Susan looked out of the corner of her eye at Jack, who was more than a little amused.

"I would!" Taryn answered smugly.

"Guys…" Jack started, but was cut off when both girls turned to face him.

They quick looked back at one another and smiled. Erin pulled Ianto towards her, trying to warn him, but by then, the other two women had loaded their spoons with mashed potatoes and flipped them at Jack. They squealed and gave one another high-fives as their ammo hit the intended target. Jack looked at the two of them and made a face that could only be described as disdain, mashed potatoes now covering his face and shirt. He set his jaw and reached for his own spoon.

"You think that's funny?" The women were now in a mad fit of giggles as he was loading his own ammo.

"It's quite funny, sir." Jack hears from the end of the table.

"You think so, Jones?" He nods toward him, taking his attention from the earlier snipers.

"Quite." He is smiling at Jack now, and all eyes are on what is going to happen next.

Jack, who now had a helping of green beans mixed with potatoes – as he always mixed them, Susan noted – was trying to decide whom to aim it at. He looked down his imaginary scope at, first Taryn, then Susan, before finally raising an eyebrow and smiling in that way that everyone found so charming. And flung the spoonful at Ianto.

Erin jumped away from her date and covered her mouth in shock. Everyone had thought that the women who had started it were going to be the targets. Ianto, not missing a beat, launched his spoonful at Susan, who was laughing. She wiped the mess from her face and glared at Jack. Tallulah was laughing at the mess that the adults were making. Susan fixed her laughter with a well-aimed shot between her daughter's eyes.

Dripping potatoes, she looked around the room. It was too much for Taryn to take and she started laughing. The baby even added in with his own laughter, hearing the adults giggle. Erin was the only one not wearing the meal they had sat down to, something that did not escape the notice of the others in the room. She felt all eyes on her and then five spoons launched, covering her as she tried to defend herself. She finally put her hands down from the assault and was splatted once more. Joey was delighted and clapped his hands, dropping his spoon as he did so.

"Thanks, kid," She said, picking up her napkin. "Ianto, I'm sorry. I guess I should have warned you."

"No, Erin, this is wonderful." He reached for her hand. "Now, if you could help me get this cleaned up, I'll be glad to make that coffee so we can play Monopoly."

"Sounds like an idea," Susan agreed. "I'll get the baby down and we can get set up."

"I'll clean up the baby – I have to go and get this taken care of anyway," Jack offered, picking up Joey before she could stop him.

"Wonderful!" Taryn clapped her hands, "Let's meet back her in ten?"

"I call banker! And the thimble!" Tallulah shouted as she headed for her room. "Don't anyone take those!"

"All right, Lu!" Erin called, taking Ianto down the stairs to the smaller apartment that she and Taryn shared. "Hey, Tare – can you grab one of the towels off the dryer?"

"Sure thing!" Taryn followed them, wiping her face on her shirt as she went.

**Oh! Lady Madonna is a GREAT song to write to! Thought I'd share that with ya'll. For those of you who have asked - Yes - this is the way Taryn is most of the time - she is quite a hoot to live with and I have a stack of notecards with things she has said that are just waiting to go into this!**


	8. In Which Someone Cheats

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Okay, so as I was writing, I noticed that I am linking back to my Torchwood Four characters, so I am going to work on their stories as well. Don't want to leave ya'll in the dark...  
**_

Within a few minutes, Ianto and Jack were sitting in the living room facing one another, not a single word being spoken between them. Taryn came into the room with the Monopoly board and tried not to notice. But the air was so thick that she felt she had to say something, anything to lighten the mood.

"All right – I am going to leave this here, do you guys think you could set it up while I go and get everyone else?" Her tone was brighter than she meant it to be and she worried that it sounded fake.

Ianto regarded Jack for a moment. "So this is where you go at night?" He was sitting on the edge of the couch cushion.

"Whenever I can, Yan." Jack answered leaning back comfortably.

"So you do this whole domestic thing?" He motioned to the room around him, which was scattered with toys here and there.

He looked for a moment at the younger man. "I guess I do." He nodded, smiling.

"You know, that's one of the reasons I thought that we shouldn't be together," Ianto said after a moment.

Jack looked at him. "What?"

Ianto scooted closer to him. "I got the impression that you didn't do want _this_." He indicated the room around him again.

Jack shook his head and sat up straight to look at him. "I never said that. Where would you…Why would you…" His brows were knit together in onfusion.

Ianto just looked at him, his eyebrow arched and lips pursed. "Or was it just that you wanted to have this with someone other than me?"

"Yan, I loved – still love – you. Why didn't you just ask?" He reached for the Welshman's face.

"Too late now." Ianto backed away from him.

Jack was visibly hurt, but hid it as Susan came back in the room and bent to give him a kiss before sitting at his feet to unpack the game. "What're you two jawin' about in here? Work?"

"Yeah," Jack answered. "Something like that."

"No more work talk!" Susan playfully slapped at his ankle. "Now what do you want to be?"

"The dog." Jack bet to pick it up. "Call me Captain Jack Barkness!"

Ianto rolled his eyes and picked up the iron. "I'll be the iron."

"Can someone hand me the wheelbarrow?" Taryn asked. "I'll need it to carry all my cash around…"

"You know, you say that every time. But we have yet to see this 'buttload of money' you keep referring to," Susan tried to look confused as she inclined her head to the side.

Erin came into the room to find her roommates starting up again. Rolling her eyes, she sat on the floor near where Ianto sat on the couch. "That makes me the racecar – right?"

"Yep!" Tallulah was wearing a pair of footie pajamas when she returned.

"Where on Earth did you find those?" Erin asked the girl as she got the place cards ready.

"Nana sent them – aren't they the coolest?" She did a runway twirl before settling beside Taryn on the other side of the coffee table with the money so that she could sort it.

"Something like that." Taryn muttered, laughing a little to herself. "Now, house rules. You have to go around once before you can buy. All money you pay to the game goes in middle of the board and you get it if you land on Free Parking."

Susan put her token on the start square. "Any and all deals made between players and their properties are legal." She liked that one – that is how she won most times.

"Did anyone want coffee?" Ianto remembered, looking around.

"That would be awesome!" Taryn admitted, "We can definitely wait a bit for that!"

Tallulah rolled her eyes at the grown-ups. They could be so confusing.

Erin got up to help Ianto and, when she had left the room, the other tow women huddled together. "Do you think she likes him?" Susan asked behind her hand. Jack was trying to listen.

"I think so yeah, and they look cute together." Taryn answered, pushing Jack off her shoulder a bit. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Jack answered, smiling at her. "And I am going to have to agree with you on this. I know him pretty well, and you seem to know Erin…"

"You know," A female voice came from the kitchen, "You guys are shit at whispering. _They_ can hear everything you are saying."

"Ooops," the three of them chorused and went back to setting up the game.

By the time the coffee was done, everyone was anxious to get started. Ianto was the only one there who had never played with the group before, so he got to go first by vote.

The minutes turned into and hour, after which Tallulah lost all interest and they had to take a break so that Susan could walk her sleeping daughter to her room. Erin took over for her as the banker and they continued for another hour, but by then, the only two still playing were Ianto and Susan. Jack had made many bad decisions and now not only owed Susan the fake money he would get on his next go-around, but also a few things that were whispered between the two of them. Taryn had seen the look in Susan's eyes before, during another tournament they had had back when they were living in Texas. That had ended badly, to say the least. Erin was concerned that the two remaining contenders had had too much coffee and this was all some strange caffeine-fueled destruction match.

"Okay," Susan exclaimed when Ianto landed on one of her five properties. "You just landed on my North Carolina Avenue. With a hotel sitting there, you owe me 1275. Have you got that?" Her face was oddly serious as she tapped the table and glared at the Welshman.

Ianto handed the money over without a word. "Care to call it a tie?"

"A tie would mean that I didn't beat you. Why don't we count what we have and declare the one with the most a winner?" Susan leaned closer to him.

"Okay," he agreed carefully, counting the paper money he had in front of him and handing Erin the cards to add up.

Susan got to work tallying her own and in a minute looked up at him. "You first."

Jack thought the scene to be one straight out of a spaghetti western. He half expected the two to stand up and take thirty paces before turning to each others, pistols drawn. This was some serious gameplay, and Jack made a mental note not to play Monopoly with her again, unless he wanted to be in debt to her forever. The thought made him chuckle a bit as he looked between the two opponents.

"Well, I would say I have upwards of ten thousand here." Ianto slapped the play money in his hand as if it were real.

Susan hung her head. "Then you win. Congratulations, Ianto Jones, you have beat me."

There was a moment when the room was silent, then, the celebrating began. Ianto got up and did a small victory dance around the living room and high-fived everyone. Susan pretended to be angry, but smiled as she began to pick up.

"I'll help you take those into the kitchen," Erin offered, grabbing coffee mugs.

"Cool, thanks." Susan said, getting the ones that were left. "Least you can do, now that your friend has beat my ass at Monopoly!"

They laughed as they went into the kitchen. Taryn began to pack up the game right as the three remaining in the room made small talk.

"So, she's never been beat?" Ianto asked his boss.

Jack shrugged. "Dunno – never played with her before. And won't do it again. I am up to my eyeballs in promises to wash dishes and bathe babies."

"Among other things," Taryn snortled. "I heard some of those whispers – though, the goddess knows I tried _not_ to!" She stood, holding the box. "Just going to go and hide this somewhere where it will never again see the light of day, excuse me."

"I think that's for the best," Jack agreed. "I'll distract her with my wonderful powers to seduce if she tries to find you."

"_Right_," Taryn rolled her eyes. "You do that." She disappeared down the stairs, leaving Ianto and Jack alone.

"So, about that thing…" Jack started.

Ianto cut him off. "No, really, it's fine. It just took me by surprise, that's all."

"How so?" He turned to face his friend.

"Well, I knew you were seeing someone else, but this is not at all what I pictured." Ianto laughed at the mental image he had created weeks before.

Jack smiled sideways, letting his own chuckle escape. "Really? How did you see it?"

The other man shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I thought you had moved on to what you were used to – you know – never in the same place twice. And now, here you are – and you look, for lack of a better word, sir, _domestic_."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "And this _really_ shocks you? Ianto, you know that I had a family before – more than once."

The younger man bowed his head. He had forgotten about the families that Jack had left behind, the ones he had either left behind out of pain or outright lost. Ianto forgot that when he looked in the man's eyes. Jack was never really one to hide emotions well – that is, if you knew his moods – which Ianto most certainly did. Right now, there was peace, but there was something else in there as well – confusion. Ianto frowned for a bit.

"Something wrong, sir?" He found himself leaning closer to Jack involuntarily.

Jack let out a sigh and stared, unflinching at the man before him, his eyes searching deep in Ianto's for something, anything. And then he was on him, lips to lips, hands searching for something to cling to.

Taryn came up the stairs to find them that way. After taking in the scene for a bit, she continued to the kitchen muttering as she went. "Don't look now, but I think your boyfriends are making out…" No one heard.

**Thankies, Helen Pattskyn for the wonderful words of encouragement! And the rest of you reviewers, hang on, it's only getting better!**


	9. In Which There is Truth

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. You should also know that I am highly influenced by music. The chapter I just wrote, I listened to Tiny Dancer and Harper Valley PTA - not this chapter, but one in the future...  
**_

Taryn came through the kitchen door muttering. Susan and Erin looked at her, but continued the joint effort of washing the dishes. "What's that?" Erin said after a moment of listening to her roommate grumble.

"Oh, nothing, just invisible Taryn talking again…" She went to the other side of the sink and picked up a towel and began to dry the dishes and put them away.

"Well," Susan looked at Erin, "I think he's nice."

Erin quit rinsing dishes and let a dreamy look cross her face. "I think I like him."

Taryn made a gagging noise. These two had someone – why was it that she didn't? She was certainly the most interesting of the three of them – wasn't she? Nevermind that her days were filled with auditions and rehearsals and what was left was saved for writing the great American novel (odd now that she was in Wales, she thought briefly) and simultaneously the perfect play. Yeah, that was why she hadn't hooked up yet – at least that's what she chose to believe.

"Oh, don't you start," Susan flicked water at the woman drying dishes.

"I know you didn't just go there," Taryn popped the towel in her direction.

Erin stepped between them. "Wasn't the food fight at dinner enough? I want Ianto to think we are somewhat normal – please?"

The two if them shrugged before donning identical looks that said they were sorry.

After a moment of only the sound of cleaning up, Erin turned to Susan again, "Thank you for letting him win."

Susan smiled at the other two women in the room. "Hey, I know the score. Nobody likes a winner."

"I knew it!" Taryn exclaimed, and then thought for a bit. "Does this mean if I bring someone here, you'll let them win too?"

"Well, we don't want it to look too fishy, but I'd consider it." They were back to laughing and that was all that the men in the other room could hear.

"Ianto, I…" Jack started but was cut off by the younger man.

"Jack, don't." His face had suddenly gone all serious. "That was a mistake."

Jack's look was incredulous. "Just now or the whole thing?"

Ianto ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly. "I'm beginning to think the whole thing was. Jack, it could never work between you and me. Especially if this is what you were wanting."

"Why say that?" Jack wore a wounded expression. "We could have had this – and more."

"No, we couldn't. I saw the way you looked at her, at her kids. She's stronger than me." He thought for a moment. "Oh, God, Jack, does she know the truth?"

He shook his head. "Can't tell her."

"She's going to notice. Or worse, Tallulah will." Another pause. "Are you going to tell her?"

Jack looked at his feet. "Hadn't thought about it. Never really planned on getting attached."

"But you did." His words were crisp and stung Jack's ears.

"But I did," he agreed, "How can you not fall for those kids?"

"So, it's the kids?" Ianto leaned back into the sofa now. "That's not fair to their mother."

"No, no, not like that at all. She's part of it. The biggest part." He recalled the discussion they had had during dinner. "She understands. I _did_ tell her about us. She was okay with that – she's open-minded. And bossy. Jesus, but that woman can tell people what to do! But you know what? When she tell me to – I want to; I really do."

Ianto chuckled at he thought of Jack doing what someone else told him for a change. He really couldn't imagine Jack cow-towing to anyone. Wait until the others heard about this – it would be wonderful fodder for the next two weeks or so.

Jack hadn't told anyone what was going on in his life, but had hinted that there was someone he had been seeing regularly. Never said that she had kids; hadn't even said it was a female at all. No one had asked either. Ianto certainly hadn't cared, not after Jack had left so abruptly. Gwen was starting to get over him, what with her wedding coming up. Tosh was always a friend, much like Owen was always the enemy. They all had their roles to fill, and Jack's had always been Boss. That was why this was going to be so much fun.

Ianto, however, had taken no great pains to hide anything about his private life. He had learned while Jack was gone that a person could not keep things in and waiting was not a good option, at least not for him. He had tried, but it was just too hard. There were dates here and there, but no real bites. Then he had met Erin. Shy Erin, as shy as he was. He thought for a moment and realized that that was one of the things he really liked about her. Just looking at her was enough – he sure had done it a fair amount of times. And she made a hell of a cup of coffee. That alone was a trait that Ianto could admire.

He turned to look at Jack who was as lost in thought as he was. Jack sat, reclined, his brow furrowed, finger idly toying with his bottom lip as he wrapped his head around what was – and was not – being said.

She was a really great person. She had changed him for the better. Before, he had run – so fast, so far – when he had felt himself getting attached. But not her, not Susan. She was grounded in an odd sort of way. Not that she wasn't flighty; no that wasn't it at all. At times her boundless energy could rival the Doctor's – hands down. And she was more than a little prone to arguments with her roommates, Taryn more so than Erin. But that was part of her charm, he supposed. She wasn't going to take shit from anyone. She had told Jack that already – and he had believed her.

Ianto was lost in thought when Jack chanced a peek in his direction. He wondered how long this could go on. "Ianto, believe me, I didn't plan this."

"We never do, sir." The response was short, cut off, Jack supposed it was mostly due to the fact that the girls had come back in the room.

"I am cutting this short, guys," Taryn announced, stretching her arms above her head. "See ya'll on the flip!" With a wave, she went down the stairs to the living area she and Erin shared.

"And I have work early tomorrow," Ianto said, standing. "Care to walk me to my car, Erin?"

She blushed a bit and nodded, getting his coat for him and following the man out the door, leaving Jack and Susan alone. "Don't you have to work tomorrow?" She asked Jack, touching his arm.

He looked up at her. "I'm the boss," he reminded her.

She smiled back down at him. "Maybe there. Here, if you have to go to work early, you need to be ready. I need to know if you are staying or not."

"Staying." Jack repeated. "But I _am_ the boss."

"You just keep thinking that." Susan laughed a little as he stood. He was at least a good head taller than her, but that didn't stop her. "You staying up for a bit?"

"You wanna watch a movie with me?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"Can't. I have to get Joey off to the sitter's after getting Lu to school. Then, work for me." She shook her head sadly. "Can't understand how you can stay up so long and still be at work at time."

"Tell you what – I'll take the kids before going in and you can stay up with me for a while." He looked at her face. "Deal?"

She couldn't say no to that face, and he knew it. "Fine. But you are getting the baby ready too." She upped the ante, sure he would say no.

"All right." His face lit up. "Sounds fair." He moved to turn out the lights.

Susan was shocked as she sat on the couch. "So, what are we going to watch? Your choice."

"Well, there's this movie on the late show that looks like it might be fun to laugh at," he sat beside her and handed her the blanket from the back of the couch, knowing she would ask for it if he didn't. "It's called Shark Attack 3 – Megaladon."

"Sounds…interesting." She leaned against him. "Can't wait."

Jack turned on the television and they sat by the glow, laughing and shouting instructions at the man on screen. "That guy right there is going to get it!" Jack pointed at the screen.

"And that one? He's kinda cute – I hope he survives." Susan pointed to another.

Jack frowned down at her. "Cuter than me?"

"Maybe." She poked him in the ribs.

They were scuffling around when Erin came in the door humming. She startled when she saw them on the couch. "Sorry. Thought you two had gone to bed. I'll just…" She went downstairs quickly.

Susan and Jack looked at each other questioningly before going back to the movie. "NO! Oh, that's not even a realistic shark!" Susan scolded the screen.

"Hold me," Jack joked, burrowing into her side. "I'm scared."

"Too much, Jack Harkness, too much." She patted him on the head.

**HAHA! Got a jab in there for all you Barrowman fans out there. At least I didn't mention "the line"...though it was changed for television viewing, I own the DVD and know the truth. So, today, Taryn started giving names to everyone and I became "Hot Topic". She was calling Barrowman and Tennant "Ambercrombie and Fitch" and Eddie Izzard "Polo". Gareth got "American Eagle" and Dane Cook was "Banana Repulic" - Sometimes I begin to think that the sleep deprivation is getting to her...**


	10. In Which There Are Questions

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Oh! But, do you see those kids they are talking about? Those are mine.  
**_

Jack was the last one to work. Tosh looked up from where she was sitting and watched her boss cross the room. Jack felt her eyes on him and looked back, almost running into Gwen.

"You're late, yeah," she said, looking up at him.

"Well, yeah," he agreed. "But I had a good reason. Ran some morning errands."

"Had to drop the kids off, sir?" Ianto appeared out of the kitchen, carrying Jack's mug.

"Since when did you have kids, Jack?" Owen's ears perked up at the opportunity to harass the man.

"Since, uh, I don't have kids." Jack looked around, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Ianto raised his eyebrow. "Well, not yours, obviously."

"You picking up random kids, Harkness?" Owen joined the others who were forming a circle around him.

Jack felt like he was on a school playground and the bullies were about to overtake him. "No, Owen, these are not some random kids." He wasn't going to answer something that he wasn't asked. No giving up information without a fight.

"Then whose are they, Jack?" This from the usually quiet Toshiko Sato, who had now joined the group.

He thought for a moment before he answered. His last little chance of having a separate life away from here was about to be busted. He guessed it had all been too easy up to this point, and sighed before answering. "My girlfriend's."

You could have heard a pin drop in the Hub.

"Girlfriend?" Gwen said at last, sounding almost crushed. "When did you get a girlfriend?" She narrowed her eyes at him, hands on her hips.

"I've had a girlfriend?" Jack's attempt at a statement came out as more of a question. Why was it that he felt like he needed to answer to them anyway? "You're just now finding out about it is all."

"Yeah, that would be my fault," Ianto tried to sound sorry, he really did. It didn't work. "I kind of told them about last night."

"Couldn't you just have told them about Erin and left me out?" Jack spun on the Welshman.

"And leave out the part where I beat your girlfriend at Monopoly?" He snorted. "Right. Oh, oh, and let's not forget you with the baby!"

"Baby?!" Gwen was quite rankled now.

"Well, he's almost two – not really a baby anymore." Jack turned to face her. All the turning was starting to make him dizzy, so he made for his office. The others followed him. "Can I help you?"

They all just stared at him. Jack shrugged and took his seat behind his desk. Four pairs of eyes were unmoving. Tosh was the one that broke the silence. "Jack, we wish we had known is all. You know so much about all of us."

"What Tosh is saying, Jack is that you didn't have to be such a prat and shut us out," Owen reworded when Jack said nothing to his co-worker.

"What was there to say – team, I have a girlfriend, is that okay?" Jack was livid, stopping himself short of slamming his hands on the desk.

Ianto looked at his watch and started. "Crap – I have to go upstairs! Erin is meeting me for lunch."

"I'm not done with you, Ianto Jones. You three go back downstairs – we can finish this later." Jack was irate with the man for sharing this info, and he had to talk to him about it _now_.

He followed Ianto up thru the maze that lead to the exterior office. Ianto tried to ignore him, but the moment they were in the cramped office, Jack grabbed his arm. "You had no right to tell them about my private life!" His finger was in Ianto's face without realizing it.

"Sir, in my defense, I was telling them about my date last night. You just happened to be in the story." Ianto kept his voice steady and his stance calm. "If you remember, you were the one to mention the kids."

Jack crossed his arms over his chest in indignance. He _had_ been the one to say the thing about the kids. "Well, still." Now he had no one to blame but himself.

"Jack, is there something bothering you about this?" Ianto was busy stacking tour maps as he talked.

He shook his head. "I just wanted something away from here. Once we were over, it seemed easier – you know?"

Ianto gave the man his knowing smile and turned to the door when he heard the bell on it. Erin was there, along with Susan. "I ran into Susan on my way over. We thought that maybe you could lock up for an hour so we could go to lunch."

The men passed a look between them before Jack answered. "Sure thing, let me just go in the back and call Gwen and let her know where we're going." He went behind the beaded curtain and tapped his comm – Gwen answered.

"Yes?"

"Gwen, the girls are here, we're going to lunch, can you come up here and relieve us?" Jack half whispered, hoping Gwen would get the clue.

"Sure thing!" He could tell by her voice that she was eager to meet these women – what exactly had Ianto told them?

"Right," Jack rejoined the others. "Gwen will be coming back from lunch early. Do you want to wait here for her or do you want to meet us?"

"We'll wait." Ianto agreed, slipping his arm around Erin's waist.

Within a few minutes, Gwen was coming through the door, Tosh on her arm. "Jack, Ianto – you remember my friend Tosh?"

Ianto offered his hand to Tosh and Jack tried not to glare at her as he nodded a hello. Tosh waved shyly at the both of them and put her head down slightly.

"This is Erin, Gwen. And that," he motioned to Susan. "Is Susan."

Gwen squealed as she ran to hug Erin, then Susan. "Oh my gosh! Jack has told us so much about you!" She gushed over the latter. "Your kids – your job – everything!"

Susan looked confused as she hugged her again and Jack made a mental note to have a talk with them later. "And you're…?" Susan spoke carefully.

"He _didn't_ tell us you were American though!" She put her hand over her mouth and looked over at Jack. Ianto was loving every minute of this. "Jack, all of Cardiff and you find an American? What are the odds?"

"Yes, what indeed, Gwen Cooper? Now, if you'll excuse us, we have lunch plans." He all but yanked Susan out the door after pushing Ianto out. "Nice to see you again, Toshiko."

Tosh and Gwen waited until they were out of earshot before they began to laugh.

**So help me, it's any wonder I am sane. I have Informer by Snow playing behind me accompanying the mad laughter of Taryn. I know she doesn't mean to be insane, but sometimes she is. Oh noes! Now she has made up a dance routine and I must join in to placate her - wish me luck!**


	11. In Which Jack Tries to Keep a Secret

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I can't think of anything witty at the moment...LOL  
**_

"She seems nice," Erin remarked as she threaded her arm through Ianto's. He smiled back at Jack, who was stalking along beside Susan.

"Look, Jack, if this is bad timing," Susan began to say, but noticed that he was ignoring her. "JACK!" Susan put herself in his way and, not seeing, he tripped into her.

"What was that for?" He looked down at the woman who was glaring up at him, her hands on her hips.

If it hadn't been for the serious look she had on her face, Jack would have been forced to laugh. Her hair was pulled into a loose clip and the sweater she was wearing hung, unbuttoned. She looked like a cartoon of an angry librarian. "Jack Harkness, quit sulking – what has gotten into you?"

He went a bit boneless and looked anywhere but her face. "Nothin'…"

"Bullshit. Now spill it." Her hands were on her hips now and she demanding an answer.

"Do you want us to wait, sir?" Ianto asked, looking back for a moment.

"Go ahead, Yan, we'll be there." Jack excused the man. "It's nothing."

"Like hell. You're going to tell me now or this is over." Susan looked into his eye, daring him to turn away from her.

Jack thought for a moment how amused the others would be if they saw this woman telling him what to do. Here was this woman, who by all accounts, was not a heart-stopping beauty, but he liked her looks just fine. Something about her drew people in, but Jack couldn't figure out quite what it was. Maybe it was the way her glasses were always slightly sliding off her nose, or the way that her eyes laughed when she was trying not to do so herself. Or the way her hips swayed when she walked, making the skirts she always wore dance around her. Or the fact that he could see down her shirt from this angle. That was always his favorite. He wondered what Gwen and Tosh were talking about this very moment and how much of a laugh they were having at his expense. And then he noticed, Susan, her hands planted on her hips, tapping her foot. "Susan, I…" he began, but didn't know where he was going. "I…Oh hell, I don't know."

"Does this have anything to do with Erin's new boyfriend? Or the fact that he used to be yours?" Still with the foot tapping.

Jack was flustered. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket and bent a little to kiss the top of the woman's head in an effort to stall for time. "Susan, it's more."

She backed away from him a bit. "More? What the hell does that mean?"

He knew that he was coming dangerously close to talking himself out of a relationship, so he stepped forward, taking his hands from his pockets and reaching for hers. "It's just that I wanted to keep you to myself."

She looked up at him, confused. "You do know that I have kids, right? That you can never really have me all to yourself…"

He rubbed lazy circles up her arm as he smiled down at her. "That's not what I meant. I meant I wanted you to be my little secret."

Her eyes turned suddenly dark as she pushed him away. "Secret?! What the hell are you playing at, Jack Harkness! I am _no_ one's secret!"

"Okay, so maybe the wrong choice of words. That's not how I meant it at all. Please, listen…" He was now talking to a retreating form. A rapidly retreating form. A rapidly retreating, stomping form. One he had to catch up with quickly. "Wait!" He called, but she didn't stop. Not that he thought she would. Damn him and his bad choices! He could only run after her now, and Jack _never_ ran after anyone.

"Don't follow me." She said loudly, hearing footsteps behind her.

"Please let me explain." Jack spun her around, noticing that her hair was falling from the hasty bun she had swept it into and into her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"You have five minutes to clarify, Captain Harkness, then, I am walking _that_ way," she pointed behind her, "and not turning back around. Ready? Go."

Jack grabbed each of her arms to get her to look at him. He breathed deeply and started to talk, his eyes never moving from hers. "I meant that I wanted to have something that was mine, something I didn't have to share with my co-workers. I didn't tell them about you because I wanted you to myself. I guess that was selfish of me. Am I forgiven?"

She looked at him for a minute before looking down at the hands that gripped her arms. Jack was afraid that he had said the wrong thing again as she batted at those same hands. "Jack, why can't you tell me these things before they get to _this_ point?" Her voice was soft and maternal. "It might have been different when you were dealing with Ianto, but you _have_ to talk to me. I am not the type to just agree with you and go on like nothing is wrong."

"Susan," his voice came out a little more pleading than he had wanted it to.

"I'm not done." She stood back from him again, sure she had his full attention. "There will be no secrets. And before you can say anything else, I want to let you know that your office might say 'Tourist Center', but the things you mumble in your sleep say otherwise. I know you can't go into detail, and I'm not asking you to, but I _am_ saying that you have to be as honest as you can with me. Are you hearing what I am saying?"

Jack nodded, afraid to talk. She was good, he'd give her that. Might be worth it to tell her about Torchwood just to have her on the team from time to time. They needed an interrogator every now and then. He pulled her close to him to show that he agreed with everything that had been said. She relaxed against him. "Done."

She let him hold her for a minute, enjoying the warmth, before whispering in his ear. "Jack."

"Yes?" She could feel him listening.

"Tell that _Gwen_ that you work with that I didn't appreciate that. Lies are _never_ cute." She waited for his reaction.

"How do you know she was lying?" He looked into her eyes again.

"Please. Old mother trick – can't tell you that – I'd have to kill you." She smiled a little smile at him and kissed him softly on the lips. "Just introduce us right, please? Now, how about that lunch? I think Erin and Ianto have given us the slip."

Jack chuckled. She was right, they were nowhere to be found. "Sure thing, I can do that – how about now?"

"Really?" Her eyes sparkled as she asked.

"Yes, now, come on, you. We'll go meet the gang and order some takeaway. How's that?" He took her hand in his and they walked back the way they came. He had decided right then and there that Susan would know about Torchwood. After all, if it went bad, there was always Retcon.

**Okay, here ya go, PerGirl13! Heh. Oh, guys, thank ya'll for favoriting and watching this thing - there is still plenty of story left to go, I am just getting started good. Reviewers will get something special!**


	12. In Which Plans are Made

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Torchwood Four is in San Antonio, TX. Honest. I've seen it!  
**_

Ianto turned to his lunch date. "I think we lost them." He laughed a little and opened the door for her. "Should we wait on them?"

"Don't think so. I know Susan – she had 'that look' in her eyes. I don't think Jack is going to be to hungry when she gets done with him." Erin sat at the table Ianto motioned to.

"Fair enough, but you have to know that Jack doesn't take orders from anyone." He laughed a little as he sat across from her. "Let's not talk about them."

"Agreed." Erin put her head in her hands. "What's good here?"

"Well, they make really good sandwiches. You know, standard lunch fare." He mimicked her actions and smiled.

"Sounds good." She returned the smile and began to stare at him. He was returning the look, not backing down. They sat in silence for a bit before Ianto continued.

"Look, before someone can interrupt, I just want to know if maybe you want to meet me after work for a stroll around the bay? Nothing fancy – maybe some wine after?" He was trying not to blush, but was failing miserably.

Erin reached across the table to him and took his hands from his chin. "That would be grand!" _Okay, maybe too eager_, she thought to herself, starting to join him in blushing.

"Really?" Ianto acted surprised that she would agree.

"Yes." She giggled at him now and scooted closer. Ianto swallowed hard as she got into his personal space.

"Erin?" He could feel her getting closer and closed his eyes on instinct. Her lips brushed his for a moment before he leaned in to reciprocate.

Suddenly, it was if the world was gone and they were the only two people in it. Erin saw sparks behind her eyes and thought that Ianto mast have been seeing the same – he was gripping at her upper arms as if he were falling. There was not enough oxygen in the universe, it seemed as Erin began to feel light-headed and Ianto was sure he felt his toes begin to curl. It had never really been like this with Jack, no matter how much he had wanted it to be. They were both reluctant to break away, but did so after what seemed like a lifetime. Ianto opened his eyes to see Erin looking at him, slightly dazed. He knew how she felt. Getting up on shaky legs, he tried to speak.

""I'll just go get those lifetimes...er...sandwiches." He walked away before she could think about what he had said. Before _he_ could think about what he said. _Lifetimes? What a complete pratt!_ But where had she learned that? He would have to ask her more about it later.

Watching him walk to the counter to order, Erin touched her lips. _The scene of the crime_, she giggled to herself. "Wow." Where had that come from? Her head was still reeling a bit from the experience. She wondered to herself where he had learned to do that, and if he was going to show her more.

She was still in her thoughts when he brought their lunch back to the table. They ate in silence, daring to look at one another only every now and then. And when they did, it was promptly followed by a bright blush and a shy smile.

"About that…" Both started when they had finished with lunch. They laughed.

"Go on," Erin urged, hoping he wasn't going to say something horrible.

"No you," he insisted politely.

"Okay, about that – do, uh, ummm…" Erin was all at once too nervous to continue.

Ianto smiled and leaned across to her once again. "I would love to try that again later." He raised his eyebrows a little and let a smile drift across his face. It was so easy to talk to her.

"Okay, then." She was still a little dazed. "I'll walk you back to work."

They stood and left, Ianto holding tightly to her hand as they walk back to the door to the Tourist Office. Erin leaned on his shoulder a bit, and Ianto resisted the urge to pull her into another kiss.

"We're here – what time do you get off tonight?" Erin looked at her feet.

"Around six – meet you at yours at eight?" He dipped his head down to be in her sight. "That sound good?"

She looked up at him and nodded, leaning a little to give him a kiss on the cheek. But he had other ideas and pulled her in close, hoping for a repeat of what had happened over lunch. Ianto was not disappointed. In fact, it seemed like this kiss was more intense than the last. Once broken apart, Erin swayed a little on her feet and had to be caught by the man who had caused it. "Anything you say," she mumbled before thinking, making Ianto laugh as he opened the door.

"Eight it is." He confirmed. "Oh, and Erin…"

"Yes?" She was gingerly touching her lips, which made him smile wider.

"Thanks." He disappeared inside after watching her walk off in the direction of her flat. Locking the door behind him and turning the sign to closed, he let himself into the main Hub, a giant grin plastered on his face.

**OMGS! I think I got a cavity from that chapter. But I had to put this one up after "angry cartoon librarian" in the last one. Any ideas on dates for Ianto and Erin? I live here and not there, so I read on the internets, but if you live there, you probably know something better...ahem**


	13. In Which Security is Breeched

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.  
**_

"And then there is Tallulah – she's 12," a woman's voice was heard from the conference room. Ianto stopped. He had heard that voice before. But it couldn't be. Jack would _never_ do that.

But he had, Ianto realized as he walked slowly to join the others. He could hear laughter now. They were laughing with her. What was she saying that was so funny? And Jack was laughing the loudest.

"Ianto!" Jack exclaimed as the man opened the door. "Have a seat. There's plenty here – oh, wait, you just went to lunch, right?"

Nodding, Ianto sat. "Yes, Erin and I just ate, but thank you, sir." He glared at Susan, who was sitting at Jack's right hand and tried to smile. "Hello, Susan."

"Hey there, Ianto!" She drawled back. "How was lunch?"

"Fine." If anyone didn't know the man, they would think he was pouting. But Ianto _never_ pouted, no matter what it looked like.

"Susan, you said your son's middle name is Danger – how did you come up with that?" Gwen was curious about the woman now that they had gotten over the rough bump from their earlier meeting.

"I took one look at him and knew it was right. Besides, how cool will that be when he's old enough to date?" She laughed and looked over at Owen, who snorted.

"I wish my mum had thought of that," he admitted, passing a picture of the boy in question back to his mother.

Jack intercepted the picture and tucked it into his pocket. "Don't have one of him." He explained, smiling at his co-workers.

"Thanks for the takeaway, Jack," Tosh said, piling her trash on her plate and walking to the door. "It was nice meeting you, Susan."

The women waved at one another and passed an easy smile between them. "Same to you, Toshiko."

Ianto looked then at Jack, who just shrugged. This motion was not missed by Gwen, nor Owen, who made their quick good-byes and left for their desks.

"I guess I should be going too, Jack," Susan said, gathering the things she had spilled from her bag. "Walk me out?"

"Yeah," The man looked down at Ianto, "I really could use a cup of coffee."

Ianto sat, his legs crossed and knee propped on the table. "I'll get right on that, sir," he managed to say through clenched teeth.

"Thanks, Ianto." Jack put his arm around Susan and led her out the door.

Susan turned to Ianto before leaving. "Nice seeing you again. Don't be a stranger."

Ianto watched them walk out before sitting up fully and slamming his fist into the table. He couldn't believe that Jack could be so irresponsible. He'd make he coffee, but he was going to have words with him when he got back.

Susan waved to the others as they made their way back to the tourist office exit. Jack thought it would be too much to take her up the lift and doing so risked having Myfanwy get agitated and curious, something he had managed to avoid. "Thank you for being honest with me, though I'm not quite sure what it is that ya'll are doing down there."

They were standing at the door that would take Susan back out now. "A little of this, a little of that," Jack told her, giving her a kiss as she opened the door. A blast of cool air hit her and Jack noticed she didn't have her sweater. He smiled and shrugged his coat off, knowing it would be far to big for her, but wanting to see it on her just once. "Take this. I'll come by after work to get it."

"Ooooo, ransom." Susan gladly took the offered coat. "I get to wear the sacred coat – you must think more of me than I thought."

Jack watched her struggle into the coat and thought for a moment about what she had said. There were only two people to date that he had let wear his most prized possession. One of them was Ianto, and now Susan. He briefly wondered if she would give it back smelling like her. When he had let Ianto into it, it had come back smelling like his favorite Archivist. He sighed at the memory that thought brought him. "I do, Susan, don't ever think that I don't like you." His eyes were hard at the thought that she may have any doubt about how much he liked her – and respected her.

"Don't be silly, Jack, I know you like me. Otherwise, why would you put up with half the shit I throw at you? No one is that much of a masochist!" She kissed him again and waved as she disappeared out of view, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.

**How about that then? Looks like things might be getting serious - on a side note, the plot monkeys have thrown so many bananas at me that there is still a lot of story left to write - and I apologize if some chapters are short, but it's easier to organize them this way. Hope it's okay with ya'll!**


	14. In Which Jack and Ianto are Barefoot

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I am having so much fun playing with these characters that I may decide not to give them back - EVER! That's right, I'm writing the story that never ends! Mwah-hah-hah (insert evil laughter here)  
**_

The light of morning came through the blinds, and along with it, the sound of happy laughter on the baby monitor next to the bed. Jack rolled over and saw that Susan had burrowed her head into the pillow in an attempt to get away from the sound. "I'll get him," he volunteered, giving her a kiss on the cheek and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"You are a prince among men," she muttered, rolling over to the side he had been laying on and bunching the pillow he had been sleeping on closer to her, if only to smell him.

"That's a new one," he chuckled, running his hand through his hair, casing it to stick up in places. He had been spending more and more nights at Susan's flat now, and figured it was time he started pulling his own weight, help her out a little.

He padded out into the hall and across to the nursery, where Joey sat in his crib, playing with his stuffed koala and laughing at some private joke the stuffed animal seemed to be telling him still. Jack stood in the doorway for a moment, remembering when he had peeked in on his own son having his morning play. Thomas had been a happy boy, hair as dark as Jack's – and every bit as unruly. But this wasn't Thomas – he was gone now. Something seized his heart and he had to go in and get the boy. Joey reached a chubby hand to Jack's face, nudging a tear the man hadn't even realized had been there. "Okay, little man – let's go get some grub going."

He carried the toddler down the hall to the kitchen, finding the aroma of coffee there to meet him. Along with one Ianto Jones. Ianto Jones wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms with little bunnies on them. And they were pink. His hair was also rumpled and it made Jack laugh. Ianto had not seen or heard him until this point and turned to look at him. The sight of Jack holding the child made him smile. Here was another sight he never thought he would see – Jack Harkness, leader of Torchwood, wearing his own pajama bottoms and toting a kid. A kid that was smiling at Ianto and clapping.

"'Fraid not, Joe, no coffee for you this morning." Jack told him, putting him in his high chair and going to the cupboard where Susan kept the cereal.

Leaning over where Ianto was, he produced a box of Cheerios and smiled at the younger man. Joey clapped again and started to chant "Hun-gee" as Jack got closer and closer. He then spilled some of it on the tray for the boy before going back for a mug.

"Here, let me," Ianto took the mug from him and began to fix it for Jack, just how he liked it. For one brief moment, it was like old times, the two of them standing barefoot in the kitchen in front of the coffeepot, both in their pajamas, hair unkempt. Jack went to speak to Ianto when he heard the footfalls behind him.

Erin wrapped her arms around Ianto as Jack turned away. "He gets before me?" She mock pouted. "You like him more, Ianto Jones!" Her tone was teasing as she looked at Jack.

"Not true," Jack answered, almost too quickly. "I sign his checks."

They shared a laugh as the Welshman handed the steaming drink to the other man and started to pour one for Erin. She tightened her grip on him and he turned to give her a quick kiss before adding the sugar. "As long as that's all," she teased, taking the mug from him and going to the table. "Hey, JoeDog, how's it going?"

"Bloody hell, I am _never_ drinking again!" The voice called up the stairs. "I feel like a ate a washrag!" Taryn appeared, pushing her dark hair off her face and yawning as she made for the kitchen. "Did I smell coffee? I would sell my left kidney for a cup right now." She slumped into a chair and put her head on the table, hoping the room would stop spinning.

Jack looked at Ianto and shrugged. There was plenty of coffee left, so Ianto poured Taryn some and set it in front of her, black. Erin noticed and got up to get her roommate the sugar and creamer. Taryn smiled up at everyone as she fixed her drink and took a hearty gulp. "Thanks – I owe you a kidney…"

Ianto laughed poured his own mug before sitting. "That's okay, I was standing there. Glad to be of service."

"Erin? He's hired. When can you start, Ianto?" She propped her head on her hand.

"Taryn, no stealing my staff," Jack warned in fun, seeing Tallulah slog in and pour her own cup of coffee before joining the others at the table.

"You want sugar?" Ianto raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"No, take it black," Tallulah sipped carefully, smiling when it hit her stomach.

"I'm going to make pancakes, who wants one?" Jack turned back to look in the cupboards for the mix he knew Susan kept there.

There was a general consensus that it would be good to have pancakes and Jack rambled around in the kitchen making them as Tallulah got the rest of the things they would need on the table. Susan came out to find the rest of the people in the house sitting around the table, save for Jack, who had heard her and was now standing at the griddle, no shirt on, kitchen towel slung over his shoulder, hair still mussed, flipping her portion of pancakes.

She shuffled her way over to him and went to the coffee pot to get the last cup waiting there. Jack bent to kiss her as she passed, having to push her glasses up her nose before he did so. She sighed and fixed her cup before taking a seat at the table. Jack brought her a stack of pancakes and a kiss moments later and took his own seat again.

Anyone who had been at that house that day would have thought that this was any other normal family enjoying a Sunday morning breakfast. Everyone was cracking jokes and having a good time. Erin looked over at her roommates in turn and smiled to them. Then, she caught Ianto's eyes and the smile between them could have fueled a power plant for half a year. A quick look over at Jack found him looking at Susan with a look she had never seen him give her before. One that almost bordered on love.

"What are your plans for today?" Susan asked Taryn, who was looking better now that she had eaten.

"Well, there's that thing with the theater today. And I saw that guy again." She dipped her finger in the remaining syrup on her plate and licked it.

"What guy?" Jack asked, watching her. "You got some hot Englishman on your plate?"

"No," she went for another taste of the syrup. "He's this guy that I keep seeing. I think he may be stalking me – but he may work for the police, so I might just be acting paranoid."

"Really? What makes you think that?" Jack picked up the cup that Joey threw on the floor.

"Well, for starters, I usually see him getting in a big blue box with the word Police on the side…" She looked at him like he already knew this information.

Jack choked on the coffee he was drinking, making Susan thump him on the back. "He what?!" He quickly looked at the man at the other end of the table.

Ianto looked at him, trying to read his mind, but failing miserably. He was sure that Jack would tell them later and made a mental note to ask him if he didn't.

"Have you heard about him?" Taryn leaned forward on the table, giving Jack a great view right down her tank top.

Jack tried to avert his eyes, but with no luck. "Maybe. Listen, Taryn, two things – one – Call me next time you see him – I'll give you my number and two – please don't lean on the table like that – I can see right down your shirt." He gave her a weak smile as he said the last part.

"Is Taryn in trouble?" Tallulah was concerned for the woman who may as well be her aunt.

Picking up on her distress at this thought, Jack reached for her hand. "No, Lu, honey, but you can never be too careful. I'll make sure Taryn is safe. Believe me?"

"Yes." Tallulah's face showed that she was serious and telling the truth, something that almost broke Jack's heart as he sat there. He was suddenly reminded of others he had promised that, only to be proven wrong.

Jack tried to shake all the things that were going on in his head, wondering why all of sudden these things were coming to him in a flood. Susan saw him blink for too long before shaking his head and took his free hand. That one action brought him back to the here and now and he was grateful to her. Now there was the issue of the TARDIS. And why the Doctor would be following Taryn. And whether he should tell them who it was. Jack decided that he'd wait to hear from Taryn before going any further with that. But he and Ianto did need to get into work if any of this was going to be resolved at all. He looked down at the end of the table and, still holding the girls' hands, he talked to Ianto. "We should be getting into work. Gwen will wonder where we are."

"No need, sir. Called her this morning. She said she would call us if it got busy." Ianto smiled back at Jack, and then at Erin. Jack smiled to himself at the way they looked at one another. Ianto was really getting on with his life, so, why did he feel a little jealous? He had Susan, after all.

"Good work, Ianto Jones!" Susan said. "That means we can all have a relaxing day. Well, except Taryn, sorry…"

"No, that's fine." Taryn admitted. "In fact, I'll take Tallulah and Joey with me. I only have that one meeting today and Lu always likes going to the theater – right, Lu?"

Tallulah brightened at the thought of being able to go and play with the lights again. "Yes!"

"See? All fixed," Taryn was pleased with herself. "With the added bonus of being able to spend the day with my best man!" Joey gave her a full-dimple grin.

"If you're sure," Susan said, making certain she didn't feel like she had to do this. "Then that would be wonderful."

"What are friends for?" Taryn smiled at Susan, "Besides, last time I took Joey, this guy hit on me – I told him I was the nanny. Works wonders." She got up and started to collect the plates on the table.

Tallulah excused herself and went to get dressed, taking coffee mugs as she went and putting those in the sink to be dealt with later. "How long before we go?"

"Be ready in ten minutes. I mean it, Lu. Don't put a ton and a half of eyeliner on." She was pushing the younger girl down the hall to her room. "Not going to a beauty contest."

She walked back to the stairs to the downstairs and waved at everyone before starting down. She had taken two steps when they heard "Bugger!" and a crash noise. "I'm okay, just missed a step!" She assured everyone.

**Thanks to my faithful readership! You guys are the ones who are making me continue with a project that I most certainly would have scrapped a few days ago. Give yourselves a pat on the back! Job well done, crew! And who likes Domestic!Jack? Hands up out there, don't be shy...**


	15. In Which There is a Blue Box

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. Taryn wants me to inform you that she is no one's Home Skillet Biscuit. Consider yourself informed...  
**_

Taryn was going into the theater when she saw him again. The man in the brown suit with the incredible hair. She remembered that she should call Jack, but as Tallulah had her mobile, it would have to wait.

The meeting with the theater owner was very promising – they wanted to pay Taryn to use her work for a show they needed to fill in their regular season. She had accepted the terms of the contract and couldn't wait to get home to tell the others about it. She had forgotten all about the man when she came out, but she didn't see him, so she took the kids to a small ice cream shop to celebrate. She had gotten the kids their ice cream and got them sitting at a table before going to the bathroom. She never made it there, however, as the man that had been following her blocked her way. Instinctively, she went for her phone before remembering that Tallulah still had it.

She stared at the man before her and set her hands firmly on her hips. "What do you want from me?"

He was calm as she asked her one question. "Are you Taryn Beall?"

"Yes," she answered hesitantly. "Why?"

"I need your help." He blurted, wiggling his fingers in an invitation to her. "And I need it now."

She took his hand without thinking, and, before she knew it, he was pulling her out the door and into the blue box she had seen him going into. She looked around in amazement at the room before her. There was no way that all of this could fit into the tiny box she had stepped into. "How did you do that?"

"It's one of the properties of a TARDIS," he said, matter-of-factly. "But that's not important right now."

"Then what is?" She knit her brows together. "Oh no! I left the kids back there! Susan is going to kill me!"

"Jack can take care of it," he reassured her, turning a dial on what appeared to be a console. "He's good at that sort of thing."

She spun on him. "How do you know Jack?"

Another dial, a lever, hitting something with a mallet. "He traveled with me."

"That's it, I mean it about the drinking, no more for me." She sat on the ragged seat that was near her out of fear of her knees collapsing.

The man laughed at her. "Taryn, it's not drinking that got you here. This is all very real. Hyper-real if you will…"

She took her hands from her head. This was all too much to absorb. "Then what got me here?"

He beamed at her and she had to admit, he was kinda handsome. For a kidnapping maniac. A kidnapping maniac with great hair. "Jack."

"Jack Harkness?" She was really confused now. How did Jack tie into this? Wouldn't he have told her if he had plans for her? Her head hurt and she leaned onto the column in the middle of the room, only to get a slight jolt.

"Yes, that very one. Oh, mind that, she's a bit testy today." He pulled another lever.

"My roommate's boyfriend? Tall guy, dark hair, always wears this blue coat?" She leaned back in the seat.

"Boyfriend? No matter, that isn't that important right now. What is important is that I managed to get you aboard the TARDIS. Hang on, this might be a bit rough." He put his foot on the console and punched a few buttons on what appeared to be an old laptop.

Taryn felt her world suddenly lurch and she regretted the pancakes Jack had fixed them that morning, "Sir, ummm, I don't feel so great."

"That's just the time shift differential. You'll get used to it in a bit." He waved her off – trying to concentrate on the precise location he needed to land. "And call me the Doctor, it's easier that way."

"Doctor who?" This was all a little to surreal. "That's it, I'm going crazy. Do you smell almonds?"

He chuckled at her. "I can assure you that you are just fine."

That was all that Taryn heard, however, as she passed out. The Doctor checked for a pulse before deciding it would be much easier to deal with her that way and let her be.

**All right, so I noticed that the chapters with the Doctor are a bit shorter. It's not because I don't love him (or Taryn) but he seems like a man who gets right to the point and doesn't dwell - same for Taryn. That's why I put them together in the first place. So, in conclusion, understand that it isn't a popularity thing for me, but, rather, how I see them. Enjoy!**


	16. In Which Owen Drives

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I can assure you, however, that my own child owns the attitude that Tallulah possesses in this part.  
**_

Tosh was looking at the activity logs for the past week when warning bells began to go off. She stopped typing to look at the main monitor and access the situation. There was a rapidly moving unidentified object approaching the ice cream shop down the road. And there were Weevil dots approaching it.

"Gwen!" Tosh called out. "We have weevil activity!"

"I'll call Jack," she was pressing the button on her comm as she spoke. "Dammit, Jack! Tosh, he's not answering!"

"Did you try the TeaBoy?" Owen came up the stairs to stand behind Tosh as she tried to get a clearer reading.

"Ianto!" Gwen yelled into the comm. But there was no answer. "Nothing guys, we're on our own." Gwen held her hands up.

"Just like when they were dating each other," Owen mumbled as she went for the SUV keys. "I'll go, you two stay here – I'll stop by Ianto's flat on the way and see if I can get him."

"Owen, it's too dangerous," Tosh tried to talk him out of it.

"Tosh, I have Weevil spray right here. And if it's too bad, I'll stay in the SUV until it gets better." Owen flipped a canister in his hand, "Okay?"

She nodded and went back to the monitor. "Keep the comm open." Gwen bossed, tossing Owen's to him.

"Right, and if you lot manage to get Jack or Ianto, have them meet me there." Owen put on his coat and went to where the Torchwood-mobile was parked.

He was getting settled when he heard Gwen's voice over the comm. "Listen, Owen, the Weevils have gone. But there's a problem – a blue police box appeared and took a young woman, leaving her kids behind. You'll need to get the kids and bring them back here. They might know something." Owen sighed audibly.

"Gwen, we are not intergalactic babysitters – that's Torchwood Four." He shuddered, thinking about the baby weevil that they had had transported there last month. Bloody ugly thing and Gwen's little sister had insisted on just dressing it up and taking it through airport security. The worse part of it was that it had worked!

"Owen, it's Torchwood's job to do cleanup. One of the kids is old enough to remember it." Gwen was using her bossy voice, something Owen hated, but listened to her anyway.

"Fine. But you better get Harkness down to take care of the rest of it. I am _not_ going to be babysitting all day!" Owen clicked his comm off before Gwen could answer, letting out a string of curses.

Pulling up to the ice creamery, the medic noticed the cops outside, already blocking off the area. "Cripes," he muttered under his breath, stopping the SUV and making sure his gun was at his side in case a Weevil decided to make a guest appearance.

Owen loved this part of the job, the one where he got to strut in and announce that he _was_ Torchwood and they could just _step off_. The officer all but snorted at Owen as he told the others to pack up and move out, dispersing the crowd as he did so. The medic moved on to the interior of the building, hoping to sort this mess out so that he wouldn't actually have to deal with the children that were involved. Really – Owen felt this was a job for social services, not Torchwood Three's expertise.

Hand on holster, the man swaggered in and saw a girl with dark hair bouncing a baby on her knee and talking to PC Andy. _Great. Just when I thought my day was as shitty as it could get…_

"Thanks, Andy, I got this," Owen all but picked him up out of the seat and led him to the door. Andy gasped at him like a fish out of water and looked back at the girl.

"You have my number – call me if you remember anything," he called to her.

"Not bloody, likely, mate," Owen pushed him out the door on this and pulled the door to before walking over and taking his place at the table.

"So, you saw something?" He wearily looked at her. He always hated asking kids questions.

"I see lots of stuff." She snarked back.

_Great, another American. Probably here on holiday with her Mum and baby brother. Her Mum who got taken by an alien craft._ "Yeah, well, could you tell about what you saw today?" He let out a sigh.

"Well, we went to the theater. I saw that." She was deliberately making it hard for the man in front of her to get answers.

"And then?" Owen rubbed his temple – he wanted to be anywhere but there right now.

The girl thought for a moment, obviously for effect. "Gee, Mister, then I saw ice cream. What do you want me to tell you about? That strange blue box that we saw?"

Owen's ears perked up at the information. "You need to come with me."

The girl stood, the baby still in her arms. "Yeah, well, my mom said never to go with strangers."

"Yeah and," Owen paused to look around, "Your 'mom' ain't here. Come on."

"Fine." The girl followed him out to the SUV without any more questioning, settling in the back, her brother on her lap. "You know this isn't safe, right?"

"No. Really?" Owen let the sarcasm drip from the words he spoke. "Who's going to stop me?"

"Andy. I'll tell him." Her eyes met his in the mirror, "He said…"

Owen cut her off. "You know what? Go ahead. Tell Andy. I'm not afraid of that little fanboy."

The girl strapped the baby on the seat beside her and glowered at the back of Owen's head. "Where are you taking us?"

"To my secret underground lair," he deadpanned, starting the vehicle and getting onto the road.

They were close enough to the Hub that they could have walked, but Owen took the SUV thinking that there would be Weevils he'd have to transport back to base. What should have been a five minute drive seemed like eons due to the fact that the surly girl in the back, upon seeing that the SUV was away from the curb, began to sing Tiny Dancer as loud as she could. Owen squinted his eyes shut for a moment and bit his tongue. The less the talking, the better. "Coming in, Gwen," he warned. "One young girl, one toddler."

"Got cha," came the reply. "We'll meet you at the door."

Owen tuned the off-key butchering of an Elton John song out and turned into the usual parking space held by the black Range Rover. He was never so glad in all his life to be free of that car as he was right now. "All right, everyone out."

The girl obeyed and Owen led them to the door, leading them silently to where he knew Tosh and Gwen would be waiting – after all, they had heard the word 'toddler'. Heaving another sigh, this time in relief at having gotten back to the Hub without seriously injuring the girl – not that he hadn't wanted to. But that victory was short lived as he heard the intake of breath as Gwen took the baby from the girl.

"Honey, let me take you and your brother somewhere comfortable, okay?" She looked back at Tosh as she led them to the kitchen.

"Owen, we have to get Jack!" Tosh was trying her best to whisper, but whisper did not go with frantic very well.

"Why, they're kids, no one is going to believe anything they say." He shrugged.

"No, Owen, that's Joey." No recognition of the name passed over Owen's face. "And Tallulah?"

That did it. Owen groaned and put his hand to his face. Just once he'd like to have a normal day – was that so much to ask, really? "I'll try the secure connections – you go and help Gwen."

"Thanks, Owen." Tosh pursed her lips before joining them.

"This is going to be bad…" Owen said aloud to no one as he started back to his desk.

**Heh, Lulu likes to rankle Owen. I think now that there will be more of them. There _has _to be! Owen+Tallulah total win!**


	17. In Which Jack is Content

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.  
**_

Susan yawned and patted the leg of the man sitting next to her. She had not really expected Taryn to take the kids all day; she had really outdone herself. Actually, it was getting to be rather late. "Jack, I'm gonna call Taryn," she stood and went to the get the cordless.

"Relax, they're fine." Jack followed her movements around the room. "Come back over here and let's finish watching this movie."

"Jack, I can't. I have this _feeling_. I can't explain it; call it mother's intuition or whatever, but there is something really wrong. Where the hell is that phone?!" She was doing no more than pacing now, her hands frantically moving in the air.

He stood and walked to the path she was making. "Hey now, it's fine. She would call if there was a problem."

"What if she can't? What if she and the kids are tied up in the back of a van? What then?" She had a frantic look in her eyes as she turned to him.

Jack suppressed a chuckle and took her hands in his. "Stop it. Really. They are fine. Come back over here and finish this movie." He gave her a somewhat pleading look, causing Susan to crack a smile.

"Okay, I'll wait until dark to properly panic." She let herself be pulled back to the couch.

Susan couldn't remember the last time she could just sit and watch a movie – and she wasn't really doing it this time either. She was, instead, leaning on Jack, her back on his chest, his head resting on hers. They had been sitting like this for most of the day, save the time that it had taken to eat the takeaway they had ordered, and Susan felt like it was the perfect way to spend the day. Jack hadn't really changed out of what he slept in, save for putting on a tee, and she had traded her usual broomstick skirt for a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. Twice, she had jumped up thinking she had heard the baby, only to have Jack at laugh at her and pull her back down to the couch. She could hear his heart beating as she leaned on him, feel the warmth through the thin cloth that was his tee-shirt. Never before could she remember feeling this safe with either of her children's fathers, and it scared her. It was something she promised she wouldn't think of the first time she had really looked at Jack Harkness – she didn't count the day they _actually_ met, who would?

"You know, Jack, the only thing that would make this better is some wine," she turned to be able to look at him.

Breaking his eyes from the television, he arched an eyebrow in question. "Are you saying I should go and get some?"

A soft smile spread across her face. "Would you?"

He kissed her on the forehead, "You know you only have to ask." He gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Can I take your car?" He was trying to slide out from under her now, but his arm had rebelled and fallen asleep on him.

"Yes, the keys are on the hook." Susan missed the warmth the second he moved and thought that maybe, rather, she would rather have him back with her. "You don't have to go, you know."

"Oh, but I want to." Jack pulled his shoes on. "And I won't be gone long. Try not to freak out and call Taryn while I am gone – promise?" He flashed the grin that would have turned anyone to putty and leaned to give her a longer kiss this time.

"Okay, I'll try," She slumped back on the now all-to-empty couch, watching as he shouldered that ridiculous coat of his on and closed the door behind him.

Jack looked back as he shut the door, thinking what a great day it had already been. Not that he didn't enjoy her kids, no, it was far from that. But today, he was getting to see who she really was, the woman without her kids – and for more than a couple of hours. Jack was smiling as he unlocked the car and got in. He made a mental note to thank Taryn for a rare glimpse of Susan and started on his way. He was almost to the store when he heard his comm beeping inside his pocket. He reached in and turned it on.

"Talk to me Gwen," he said with a sigh. He knew the silence was too good to last.

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end before she answered. "Jack, we need you here. It's Susan's kids…"

Jack didn't wait for the last bit, he swung the car around in the middle of the street and floored it to the Hub.

**Chug chug chug - onward and upward. Whoa! Just discovered that this chair I am sitting in is broken. The hydraulics in it are broken, so I am practically sitting on the floor. Not comfortable, I say! **


	18. In Which Ianto is Okay

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I do wish I had my own Ianto, though.  
**_

Erin smiled as she sat on the side of the bed, coffee mugs in hand. Ianto was propped against the headboard remote in hand. "Be careful, it's hot," she warned.

He smiled. Of course he knew it was hot, there was steam rising from it. He knew it was small talk, designed to make the heaviness of the room go away. And it was working. After a thrilling morning of playing crazy eights and avoiding the elephant in the room that took the form of one very electric kiss. Ianto had spent the night, but it was nothing more than talking until three in the morning and passing out in a tangle on the bed. Now, they had moved back to the bedroom and were watching "Labyrinth" – something they found they had in common.

"We could go out for lunch," Ianto suggested, sipping a cup of coffee that he would swear was better than anything he had ever made.

"Or we could order in," Erin raised her eyebrow just enough that one would miss it if not looking for it.

"We could," he agreed, looking into his mug for a moment. "That is, if you want to."

"That would be nice." Erin looked into her own mug. She was finding that words escaped her at the moment, something she couldn't remember being a problem with her before. And why was the bottom of her mug so interesting, anyway? "Ianto, what do you want to do? If you want to go out we can…"

He smiled warmly at her and set the coffee he was holding on the bedside table before moving to take hers as well. "Erin, I want nothing more than to have a day in with you. I have turned off my phone and called into work. Let's order in and just spend the day in here."

Her breath caught in her throat at the very idea of an entire day spent in bed just spending time with him. "Yes, let's do that."

They were looking at each other for a while before they realized that they were, most certainly, kissing again. The need for air became secondary as all of existence blinked out around them. Erin was the first to tear away, but only because she was slipping off the bed. She bit her lip and looked at Ianto. "Ummm, are you going to do that again?"

"I might," he admitted, leaning toward her again.

She put her hands in front of her for a moment, "Then I need to get better situated." She smiled and crawled up beside him.

"So, you're okay with this?" Ianto put his arm around her, noticing how her hair covered his arm – hair that she normally wore in a ponytail.

"Of course." She smiled at him and he felt his heart leap. How could someone undo his so completely? He thought once that Jack was the one who could do that, but the way he felt with him was nothing compared to this. He thought briefly about Lisa, but that thought was pushed out of his minds by warm lips meeting his again, coaxing him into an ancient dance that has existed since the beginning of time.

Up until this point, no one had ever made him forget about Lisa. Not even Jack. And now, here was this gentle creature, this coffee goddess, and she was thoroughly undoing all the hurt he had ever felt. He never wanted to leave the warmth of her arms, the soft pillows of her bed. He briefly thought of quitting Torchwood and opening a chain of coffee shops with her – for the first time since he had joined Torchwood, Ianto Jones _wanted_ to grow old.

He was suddenly seized with a panic. He jerked away from Erin and found her looking at him confused. "What's wrong?" She reached for his hands.

"Nothing." He answered plainly. And it was true. There was no more hurt in him – anywhere. It didn't hurt that as a child, none of the other kids would pick him for sports until last. It didn't hurt that Alice had stood him up for that school dance. It didn't hurt that Lisa was gone. It didn't hurt that Jack was not there for him. It simply didn't hurt at all. "Erin."

She turned to face him better and he pulled at her until she was on his lap. "What is it?"

The tears began in his eyes and he wasn't afraid to show her. She laid a hand on his cheek. "It's all better. All of it."

"What do you mean?" She searched his now leaking eyes, trying not to cry herself.

"I used to hurt so bad, but now that's all gone. I used to think that it was a fairy tale to think that it could all be gone – but, no." He looked at her hard for a moment before speaking again. "I am so serious when I say this, Erin. Please don't think that I am not telling you the truth, not even for one moment. Ask me anything you want to know, I can't keep secrets from you anymore. You healed my soul. There is only one thing that I can think of right now."

"And what is that Ianto Jones?" her hand were on either side of his face now, and she was loosing herself in his blue eyes. "What is so important to you?"

He took a deep breath and let the words flow. There was no way to stop them anyway. "Erin Alley, I love you."

She swallowed hard and then began to cry herself before covering his face in tiny kisses. "I love you too, Ianto." She sank into another long kiss as Ianto felt his phone vibrate. Looking briefly at the caller ID, he decided Torchwood could wait, he was at the start of forever.

**Okay, so at this point the insomnia has gotten out of control. LOL Up for almost 40 hours now, and doing this the whole while. What can I say - I have three kids who wake up at different times of the night, loud neighbors and determination!**


	19. In Which There is SOmething Going On

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. But, I would like to point out that Taryn owns exclusive rights to Taryn, as she has asked me to. Thank you.  
**_

"Where am I?" Taryn asked, rubbing her head and looking into the brown eyes of the man who had been stalking her for the past week. "And who are you?"

"The Doctor, remember?" He smiled his best cheeky grin at her, "You're in the TARDIS."

"Too many curries," Taryn decided, sitting up.

"Nonsense - no such thing," the Doctor scoffed, sitting on the part of the jump seat that she vacated by putting her legs down. "Now – how are you?"

"I've been kidnapped." Taryn wasn't sure who she was telling, everyone on this room should know that already.

"I wouldn't say that," the Doctor tugged his ear as he talked. "Borrowed, _maybe_ – kidnapped, _never_! Kidnapping is for bandits and thieves. I am neither." He felt Taryn staring at him. "What?" She looked around the room, finally ending on him. "Oh – I guess this is all a bit confusing."

"I'll say," Taryn managed. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

"Oooo – my favorite place to start!" The Doctor leapt up, excited, and began to pace as he talked. "One – which I find is the best number to start with – unless, of course, you want to start with negative numbers, in which case it gets tricky…" Taryn cleared her throat. "One – you are Taryn. Number Two – I _need_ your help. The TARDIS put me in your path more than once. And five – no three – sorry, bad joke – you have no idea what I am talking about, do you?"

Taryn shook her head. "Not only do I not know what you are talking about – nice Python reference though – I'm having a hard time believing that I didn't drink myself insane. One minute I was with Lulu and…Lulu! What happened to the kids?!" She was at the door, trying to open it, but it was stuck fast. And with good reason, even though she didn't know it. It would not have been good for her to go hurdling out into space.

The Doctor leaned against the console and crossed his arms over his chest. "You can't – we're already on our way."

She slumped against the door. "On our way where?"

He went to help her to her feet. "Now, see, that's the brilliant part – I'm, not sure."

She accepted his hand and, dusting herself off, reasoned, "Okay – pretending I'm not crazy here. Let's try this – Where am I?"

"The TARDIS."

"Which is?"

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"In simple words, please?

"A time machine."

"You're crazy."

"'Fraid not."

"Listen – time machines only exist in science fiction stories. Oh – and when Susan gets drunk – she'll tell you how to time travel – also speaks a fair bit of Welsh then – irony at it's best – and – oh! I'm rambling, aren't I?"

He beamed at her. Yes, this Taryn was going to be fun. He hoped she'd stay for a while. He liked her style. They looked at one another for a moment more before Taryn went back and fell on the jump seat. "Okay, let's say this is true."

"This is true," the Doctor parroted.

"I need some tea."

"Now, that I _can_ do," The Doctor smiled and, taking her hand, led her to the kitchen.

**Woo-hooo! Taryn + TARDIS something bound to happen. I think maybe the Doctor might be biting off more than he can chew...**


	20. In Which Jack is in a Panic

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I, however, do sort of - in a way, mind you - own the children that Lulu and Joey are based on, so I guess that counts for something...  
**_

Jack burst through the door, looking around frantically. Spotting Gwen sitting on the couch with Joey in her arms, he rushed over and began to check him over for bumps and bruises. "What's wrong with them?" He took the baby from her, careful not to wake him. "And where is Lulu?" He sat beside Gwen.

"I'm down here, Jack!" Her voice called from what sounded like the autopsy bay. "But I'm not hurt. Owen is showing me some of the cool bacteria he has growing down here!"

"Lu, please come here so I can see you," Jack all but pleaded. He needed to see that they were both okay.

Within a few minutes, Tallulah appeared in front of Jack. He pulled her onto the sofa beside him and drew her in for a hug, it being the best he could do with only one arm. Gwen watched with her hands to her mouth. Watching him with Susan's kids made her realize that the Captain was changing – for the better. Well, it was that and the fact that he had shown up in his pajama bottoms and a plain tee, hair everywhere. But he was still wearing that coat – the coat that Gwen was convinced the man wore to bed – and this was somewhat proving it to her.

"Oh, God, Lu, I was so worried," He held her so close, she yelped, forcing him to let her go. "What happened?"

She sat up and tucked her leg under as she got comfortable. "I dunno. It was weird. Taryn took us for ice cream and then she got up to go to the bathroom. She never came back."

"Did you see who took her?" The baby stirred a little and then nuzzled into Jack's neck before heaving a sigh and starting to snore a little.

"All I saw was the blue box."

Jack touched her hand. "Are you sure you saw a blue box?"

"Yes, why?" She was starting to get scared and Gwen picked up on it.

"No reason not to believe her, Jack, and shouldn't you be getting them home?" She stepped in to help.

Jack shook his head to clear it. "Right, just going to ask Owen a few questions. Would you hold this little sack of bricks?" He kissed the boy on the head as he passed the boy to Gwen. He never even woke up.

Jack stood overlooking the railing down at Owen. "Owen, anything usual at the place where you picked up the kids?"

"Not really, only injury of sorts was the migraine that the kid managed to give me by singing that God-awful song in the car." Owen looked up at the man.

"And what song would that be?" His mouth turned up at the corner.

"Tiny Dancer. And what are you doing in your jimmies? Sleepover?" His raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that. Any injuries to anyone? Especially the kids?" He ignored the medic.

"None, Jack, they all checked out. Honest. Now, get back to your slumber party, Harkness." Owen laughed at himself.

Jack crossed back to Gwen and took the child from her once again. She was reluctant to give him up, and looked a little sad when he was gone from her arms. Jack thought that maybe it was time for her to think about having a kid of her own – after all, she had Rhys to help her when she was at work. "Right, I'm going to head back, find out what I can from Lu – if you don't hear from me by seven, lock up shop and transfer the Rift Monitor to me cell. Got that?"

They all nodded as Jack took Tallulah's hand and lead her out the door. Tosh looked at the others. "Did you see what he was wearing?"

"I think that was the 'Dad going to pick up the kids from a bad dream they had at a slumber party look," Owen added.

"I dunno, it fit him," Gwen put in. "Domestic looks good on Jack."

"Who are we kidding, Gwen? _Any_ thing looks good on Jack!" The women laughed at a private joke and Owen went back to categorizing his various molds and spores. The less he knew, the better, he figured.

**So, for those who don't know, I am writing a fic with TheOncomingShower called "Points of View". It's kind of darl, and I had no idea that I had such a dark place in me. One that secretly adores The Master. shudder Check it out!**


	21. In Which Someone Gets Hired

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. And in this chapter, I add another character that I don't actually own because she really exists...  
**_

Jack parked the car and helped Tallulah out before going around and getting Joey out of his seat. The boy slept on as Susan appeared at the door. "What's going on? Where's Taryn?"

Jack looked at her and walked past to put Joey to bed. When he had him down, he went to Tallulah's bedroom door and knocked. "Lu?"

"Jack, I told you all I know." She sounded tired, so Jack left it.

"If you do think of anything else, tell me? Wake me up if you have to. Okay?" He talked through the still-closed door.

"Fine." At least she was her usual sulky pre-teen self.

Jack found Susan in her bedroom, sitting on the bed. "Where is Taryn? Is she okay?" She held her arms close to her chest, as if she were cold and trying to hold the heat in.

Jack took his coat off and draped it over a chair in the room before sitting beside her and pulling her close. "She's going to be fine."

"But where is she now?" Susan sounded small and scared for her friend.

"Well, I don't know." Jack told her the truth. "But I know she's safe. I know who has her."

"Are you telling me she was taken?" She searched his face in the hopes that that was the wrong guess.

He nodded. "But I know the guy – he's as safe as houses. Honest. You trust me right?"

"You know that I do." Tears were starting in her eyes.

"Then trust me on this." He drew her in to a hug and kissed her on the top of the head. "Tomorrow we'll begin the search for a nanny – you've been needing one anyway."

"Only need a day nanny," She protested weakly.

"Fine, but I'll help – okay?" Jack was pulling back the covers on the bed.

"Fine, if you really want to," Susan sounded too tired to argue and he knew it was because she felt like she could have done something. Like if he hadn't stopped her from calling that she never would have come up missing.

They got under the covers and within minutes of curling up to Jack, Susan was breathing evenly and even snoring at times. He contented himself with laying kisses along her hairline and thinking about how she had been right. He was going to have to learn to trust her intuitions, he guessed as he himself drifted off.

The next morning, he woke up well before Susan and got to work trying to find a nanny. She can into the kitchen to find bits of paper strewn around and scribbled all over as well as Jack sitting at the table with a BlueTooth in his ear.

"Toshiko, can you just look up one more? One? Please, Toshiko? Please? Please? Pretty, pretty please? Thanks! You're the greatest. Her name is Nicole White. Yes, White, like the color. Okay, let me know when you find out. Thanks, Tosh!" He lifted his head from the paper he was reading and looked at the woman standing in front of him. "Oh, good, you're up! With any luck, this will be the last one."

"So what are you doing, exactly?" She sat at the table and laid her head on her folded arms.

"Well, I am having Tosh run the prospective nanny's records. So far, there hasn't been anyone I trust," Jack had a pen behind the ear that wasn't taken by the comm.

She looked up at him for a moment. "Jack, why are you doing this? I could have gotten off early today and taken care of it."

"No you couldn't. And I can." He smiled at her. "So I am. Now, you go and get ready for work and I'll do this."

"Bleh." Susan made a face at him and drug her feet down the hall to wake up Tallulah before going to get dressed for work.

"Yeah, thanks, Tosh, I think that's going to do it. Unless you _want_ to patch me through. Again, thank you – with all my heart." Jack was talking when she came back into the room. "Hello, Is this Nicole? Nicole, this is Captain Jack Harkness and I hear you come very highly recommended. When can you start? Tomorrow would be great. Thank you!"

"So, it's good news I take it, " Susan was dressed for work and grabbing her keys.

"Yeah," Jack nodded. "She can start tomorrow."

"What about today? I can call and…" she was cut off before she could finish.

"No, I'll take Joey with me. You go on to work. Tosh and Gwen would love to have their hands on him anyway, trust me." Jack laughed at the thought of how the day would go.

"Wait. You never said how much. Jack, I can't spend too much on a nanny," she looked down at the floor.

Jack walked to her and hugged her close. "Listen, don't worry so much, I have it covered. These kids are like my own. I'll be glad to help." Where had that come from? It was true, but why did have to go and say it out loud?

Susan's breath caught a bit when she realized what he had said, but tried to act like it hadn't been said. It would be much easier for her, after all, if she hadn't heard that. "Okay, and hey, thanks. We can talk about this more when I get home." She was out the door after she saw Tallulah leave.

"Sure thing, sweetheart," he said as she ducked out the door. It felt nice to be domestic again, he thought.

**And there you go, TheOncomingShower, you get put in. I have so much more to tell and it's starting to bubble out in the weirdest ways. I keep having dreams that go into chapter form too too well. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this to their alerts - you guys are the reason I am still writing!**


	22. In Which Ianto is AWOL

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I can't think of anything witty to say here.  
**_

"Who do you have there, then?" Gwen asked, taking the child that Jack had in his arms. "Maybe he wants to come play with Auntie Gwen?"

"Thanks, Gwen," Jack sighed, dropped the diaper bag he had on his shoulder, but not before Tosh had looked up and giggled at him.

The very image of Captain Jack Harkness, one time intergalactic conman, now leader of Torchwood Three, standing tall and proud in his standard work outfit of choice - with the coat, of course - comm in ear, holding a toddler who was biting his finger and looking very proud of himself. And let's not forget the baby blue diaper bag that was hanging off his shoulder. Tosh was reduced to a fit of giggles that ended with a snort. Owen came up to see what was making the girls laugh and doubled over himself.

"Jack Harkness doing domestic? Never thought I'd see the day," Owen shook his head and walked toward the kitchen. "Has anyone seen the TeaBoy?"

"Ianto isn't in yet?" Jack's eyebrows knit together. "That isn't like him. Did you hear from him yesterday?" He rummaged through the bag he brought for some toys for the boy to play with.

"Never did," Tosh didn't look up as she watched for any sign of the Weevils that had been out the day before.

"That's odd, not at all like him," Jack remarked, going to lean on the back of Tosh's chair as Gwen took the book and ball Jack had fished out for Joey.

"I tried getting him on the comm, but nothing. And he isn't answering his cell." Tosh punched more buttons.

Jack looked quickly at Gwen, who widened her eyes and shrugged. "I'll try calling him. Gwen, have you got Joey?"

"Jack, I have fought aliens and you are asking me if I can handle a toddler?" She joked, "We'll be fine."

With a quick grin, Jack went to his office. "Thanks, I owe you."

Once up there, he looked around. The mug that he had left on his desk two days ago was still there, proving that Ianto had not been there while the others were not. Jack used his cell to dial Ianto's cell and got only a message that his mailbox was full. Concerned, Jack dialed the home number that he had for the man, only to get an answering machine on that end as well. This was not at all like Ianto, and it scared Jack. There was only one place that had not been checked, so Jack opened the hatch located in his office and peeked in, only to be met with the smell of stale, uncirculated air. And not a sign of Ianto. Jack ran his hands through his hair and went out to the main part of the Hub. Ianto's desk was the same.

"I'm going to go by his house." Jack made a decision. "Gwen, grab Joey and come with me."

Gwen picked up the baby and followed Jack out. He had borrowed Susan's car, so he strapped Joey into his car seat before slipping behind the wheel. "I can't understand why Ianto would do this," he muttered as he started the car. "Not like him at all."

"Jack," Gwen placed her on his leg, "he's fine, I'm sure."

Jack looked his leg and then up at her with an arched eyebrow. "How can you be so sure, Gwen? He could be in big trouble. You know that good can change to bad in a matter of seconds."

They rode in silence the rest of the way to Ianto's flat. When they pulled up to the curb, Jack looked over at Gwen. "Stay here. If I need you, I'll call."

Gwen nodded and watched as he went to the front door and knocked. He got no answer, so he used the key Ianto had given him. Gwen saw him go inside and turned to the child in the back. "Joey, Jack is being very silly – I'll bet this has to do with your Auntie Erin…"

"Erin," Joey agreed, clapping his chubby hands.

Gwen laughed and watched the boy laugh and bounce his feet. She wondered if she would ever be able to have a family of her own and briefly envied Jack, even if this wasn't his family, he was getting to spend time with them. More than ever, Gwen wanted a baby to cuddle. Joey looked at her studying him and whined to get out of the straps.

"I don't think Jack wants you out of there, love," she told him gently.

"Love," he repeated, holding his arms out to her.

It broke her heart to tell him no again, but she quickly added, "When we get back, dear, I promise."

Jack came back out of the apartment with a distressed look on his face. Gwen talked to Joey before he got back in. "Looks like Uncle Jack is upset."

"Daddy!" Joey insisted, just as Jack opened the door.

His head whipped back to the child in the backseat. "What did he just say?"

Gwen, who had her hand over her mouth, and was afraid to answer, let her eyes go wide.

"What did you say?" He turned to face the child again.

Laughter bubbled out of the toddler. "Daddy!" he demanded, reaching out to Jack.

Gwen watched Jack go pale for a moment before tears began to run down his face. Forgetting Ianto, he reached around and undid Joey. It had been a long time since he heard that word directed at him; so long, in fact, that he had forgotten how it felt to hear it. Jack gathered him in his arms and held him so tight that the boy let out a bit of a yelp.

"Jack," Gwen whispered, "he should be able to breathe, yeah?"

He had forgotten Gwen was in the car. "Of course." He loosened his grip a bit and looked at her, tears still in his eyes. "Gwen, it's been so long…"

All she could do was nod. "Jack, maybe we should just leave this. Ianto would have called if it were that important. Really."

Jack looked at her, Joey's small hand now in his hair. "I suppose you're right."

"Damn right, I'm right." Gwen smiled. "Oops, forgot about the kid. Maybe you should take him home, yeah?"

Jack nodded. Suddenly, the world was different. It didn't matter if Ianto was there. Jack was there and Joey was there and the word was there, still in the air, the word – a title – that changed everything in a second. A word that made Jack want to cry and scream and laugh and live and die and oh, so much more. "I think that's a good idea. I'll try calling Ianto a little later. Do you need a ride home?"

"Thanks, that would be great, I'll tell Tosh and Owen then?" Gwen tapped the comm in her ear.

"Yeah, let me put him back," Jack opened the door and busied himself with putting Joey back in his seat.

Once he had finished, he once again took his place in the driver's seat. "Did you tell them to transfer all calls to me?"

"Tosh said she would take them and call you if she needed you," Gwen patted his leg.

"You told them, didn't you?" Jack's eyes smiled along with him.

Gwen hid behind her hands. "You didn't want me to?"

"No, it's fine. Still a bit in shock, but it's good." He took one of her hands. "You heard him, right? I'm not being crazy here…"

"Yes, Jack, I heard him. Now take me home so you can go and spend more time with him like you want." Gwen was the voice of reason.

Jack started the car, still smiling. Today was going to be a good day.

**Did you know that gummy worms, when left in a hot car, melt? And then they turn into this weird goo that you cannot chew nor swallow whole. Guck. Call Torchwood.**


	23. In Which Erin Learns

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

Ianto snuggled closer to Erin. They had been holed up in her room watching old movies for two days, leaving only to answer the door to collect the takeout. In her sleep, Erin sighed and stretched a little, a content smile on her face. Ianto briefly wondered what she was thinking about as he idly rubbed his chin. He could do with a shave, he thought, but that became secondary when the woman beside him began to stir. She gave him her morning smile and stretched again before settling against the man's chest.

Ianto kissed the top of her head. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yep, didn't make any mistakes," she yawned into him.

He chuckled at her little joke and pulled her closer. "What do you have planned for today?"

"You mean that you want to do something other than this?" She turned to look up at him.

"Of course not," he kissed her gently on the lips. Ianto hadn't been into work for those two days – hadn't even called. After all, it wasn't like Jack didn't know where he was. He had heard the older man's voice upstairs just the night before.

"Ianto – did you call work?" It was like she could read his mind.

"No," he was honest with her. "They know where to find me. Not that I want them to."

"True. How about breakfast?" Erin was already moving.

"Sounds great," Ianto swung his feet off the bed and stood to stretch. "I'll make coffee."

"You have a deal!" She pulled her loose hair into a ponytail, watching Ianto out of the corner of her eye. "What?"

"Nothing – that's it," his smile was warm. "Everything is fine. Still fine." He crossed to her. "For the first time in a long time."

She searched his eyes. "Oh my God, Yan, you're serious." Sudden realization hit her. "You must have been hurt so badly."

He nodded, not once feeling any of the old familiar feeling that normal would accompany this conversation. "It all gone – Lisa, Jack…"

Erin knit her eyebrows together. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He rubbed her arms lightly as he talked, "Only if you want to know."

"Ianto, I want to know everything you want to tell me – no more, no less." The look on her face told him she was telling him the truth.

"You won't get mad or – worse – jealous?" He thought back to Jack and the way he would always cut Ianto off if he talked about past lovers – nevermind that he would tell stories at the drop of a hat.

"Don't be silly. Tell me everything about you." She put her arms around him.

"Everything? What do you mean?" He looked down at her, eyebrow arched.

"Just everything! Start from when you were born and don't stop until you get to this very second. Don't leave anything out." She put her head to his chest to hear his heartbeat.

"Well, to start it off, my Mam met my Tad…" he began, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

**All right. Now we are starting to see some results! There is a giant possibility that it will be a bit before this gets updated - I am in the middle of a nasty move. I hope that won't be the case thought - keep you fingers crossed! And remember, reviews are love. (Shout out here to Helen ****Pattskyn and TheOncomingShower!)  
**


	24. In Which Jack is Asked a Question

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

Jack had driven Gwen home, only to find Rhys outside when they pulled up. He walked over to the car and stuck his head in to kiss Gwen before they even got stopped good. "Is there anything wrong?" he looked over at Jack.

"No, we decided to call it an early day. Not enough time to spend with our families," Gwen answered for him.

Jack had to smile at the word she had chosen. _Family_. He had always thought that that was not a possibility anymore – that Torchwood would be his only family now. He was sure that his face was going to split right in half.

"Things good with you then, Jack?" He still had his head in the car and was now looking at Joey. "Who's this then? Newest member of Torchwood?"

"That's Joseph Danger," Gwen said it like she was reciting a movie trailer, her eyebrows raised.

"That right?" Rhys looked to Jack for an answer. "Who's is he?"

"My girlfriend's." Jack puffed his chest up a bit as he answered.

Rhys tried not to look shocked, he really did. But Rhys was rubbish at it, really, truly rubbish. "You have a girlfriend?"

Jack looked at the man and chuckled audibly. "Yes, Rhys. You should meet her, she's even human."

"Oh stop, you two," Gwen laughed, putting her hands up between them.

Rhys opened the door for her and they spoke in a whisper for a bit. Gwen poked her head back in the car before shutting the door. "You want to come up and talk for a bit?"

Jack thought about saying no, but saw that they really did want him there, so he accepted their invitation and parked the car. Gwen and Rhys had gone in, so he unstrapped Joey and carried him into the house. The boy bounced on his hip when he saw Gwen again, and reached for her. Rhys watched as she took the boy and carried him off to the kitchen.

"You know, she wants one of those," Rhys remarked, looking at Jack as if he had put the idea in her head.

Jack looked at the kitchen, "She'd be good at it." His reply was automatic, but truthful.

"Yeah, I suppose so. That's my Gwenny, takin' care of the world!" The two of them shared a laugh and went to sit at the table as Gwen got them something to drink.

"Here, Rhys," She handed Joey over to him before he could protest and headed back to the kitchen, "I can't pour when I am holding him and this place is NOT kid-proofed."

Jack watched as the boy studied Rhys before turning to Jack and holding his arms out. "Daddy?" he pleaded, reaching for Jack's coat.

"Did he just call you…?" Rhys was becoming more and more confused.

Jack took the boy and beamed at the other man. "Yep." He hugged him close as Gwen brought out a pack of crackers.

"He can have these, yeah?" She asked Jack before handing them to the toddler.

He nodded. "Wedding's coming up – how are you guys doing?" Joey shifted on his lap as he tried to open the pack, only managing to crush them. Jack took them and got the remaining ones out, putting the crumbs that were left on the table.

"Nervous," Gwen sat, wrapping her hands around her teacup. Rhys looked at her then. "Well, I am – aren't you?"

"Yeah, terrified," he admitted, taking her hand in his. At that moment, a look passed between them that was unfiltered and true – no mistaking that they were destined for a forever together – that Jack felt as though he were intruding.

"It's nothing kids – been through it myself." He thought for a moment about what he had just said, then continued. "Besides, you guys already got the living together part down – what's left?"

"Well, _that_, for starters," Rhys inclined his head at the toddler happily eating crackers and dropping wet bits all over Jack's pants.

"Thanks, Joe," he muttered as he picked at the bits, but it was no use. "But this is the best part."

"I can see you're having a ball there," Gwen laughed. "Let me get you a towel." She was just out of earshot when Rhys leaned closer to Jack.

"You know, I'm not as nervous as I keep saying. I can't wait to start my life with her proper. And I _want_ kids, Jack, but I don't know how we are going to do that with her job." Jack studied his face for a bit.

"Rhys, you have my promise that when that time comes, I will do everything I can to make sure that that is a possibility for you two." He sat back in his chair. "You make the call."

"Thank you Jack." Rhys nodded and watched as Gwen came back in the room with a towel to help clean Joey off.

"What were you two talkin' about, then?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at Rhys. "Did you ask him?"

"Not yet – I was getting' to it." He smiled at her. "Well, Jack, you see, one of my mates isn't gonna be in town for the wedding. We were wonderin' if maybe you could step in for him?"

Jack was shocked. He looked, confused, from Gwen to Rhys and back to Gwen, who nodded to him that it was okay. "Yeah, sure, I'd be honored!"

"Once again, Captain Harkness, you save the day," Gwen joked, handing him the towel and sitting.

"Yeah, but I think this shirt might be a lost cause. I forgot how messy soggy crackers could be," he made a face at them. "I hate to cut this short, but I think I'm going to go home and get some stuff straightened out. Thanks for having us."

Gwen walked Jack to the door, kissing Joey on the cheek as they left. "Bye, Joe."

The boy smiled at her and waved a cracker-coated hand. "And thanks, Jack, it means a lot to us."

"No problem, Gwen," he shared a quick hug with her before calling back into the flat. "See ya later, Rhys!"

It was a short walk back to the car, but, as Jack replayed what had been said, he thought about what he had meant. Back there, to Rhys and Gwen, he had said he needed to get home. But wasn't the Hub his home? When had all of this changed so much for him?

**Okay, so we all lucked out and the wonderful and beautiful Taryn (not that she made me say that or anything - ow! you can let go of my arm now...) had these saved on her lappy so I could post over the next two days. Now I'll need to find my thumb drive so I can type the other parts in on the library computer and be able to post them - there are plenty of chapters left still - does anyone think this is going on too long? I really do have an ending and purpose in mind here, I promise. Much loves to all readers for hanging in there!  
**


	25. In Which There is a Pact

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

The Doctor appeared moments later, two cups of tea in hand. Taryn took one and inhaled before putting her lips to the cup.

"It's Earl Gray, all I could find," he explained, taking a seat next to where she sat in the jumpseat and putting his feet on the console.

"It's lovely!" She exclaimed, taking another smell before taking a second sip. "Now, you have to tell me what is going on here."

"That's easy." He leaned back, content. "I don't know."

"How can you not know?" The confusion was coming back.

"I _do_ know that it has to do with Susan. And you are the most direct link to her right now." She started to protest. "The TARDIS is never wrong about this."

"So, you're telling me that you grabbed me out of my normal, everyday life to save Susan? Does it always have to be about her? Why not Jack? He's _way_ closer to her right now – that is, depending on what time of day it is…" She almost whined, but held herself in check.

The Doctor was drinking when he registered what she was saying. "Hold on, did you say Jack?"

"Yeah, this guy she is dating, seems a bit of a player, if you ask me – which no one does." She swirled the tea around in her cup, watching his face.

"It's not Harkness is it?" He almost choked. "Couldn't be Jack Harkness…"

Taryn nodded as she drank. "Yeah, that's him – tall, dashing, lots of charm?"

"But how did he…OH! Now I get it! It's all clear now!" He sat upright and ran his free hand through his hair. "Taryn, how long have you known Susan?"

"A bit. Long enough. Why?" She was very confused as to how Jack knew this man, but it figured, one _looney_ would know another.

"Did you know her when she was in school?" He was trying to narrow this down a bit more.

"No, I didn't meet her until after she had kids. What is this about?"

"Well, I got a message from one of my oldest friends. The Face of Boe – don't suppose you know _him_ do you?"

"Look. You either need to start making sense or I am going to just leave."

"But I told you – you can't do that. We are out in space, twisting through time – trying to get to the point in your friend's life where you can stop her from making a mistake."

"Wait. I read a story about this once. We can't step on a prehistoric butterfly, right?" Taryn was gesturing with her hands as she spoke.

He looked at her for a moment and tugged on his ear. "Uh, no, actually."

"Then what?"

"Well, it seems that you are the only one who can get her to change her mind."

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions – has anyone ever told you that, Miss Beall?" He rubbed his eyes.

"I have to – a good writer always asks questions! Take for instance Agatha Christie. She was a great writer – her stuff stood the test of time. Do you even know who I am talking about?"

The Doctor laughed and nodded, knowing that he had met her in the flesh. "I've heard of her a few times."

"She's great. Anyway, I have to ask questions – what if I want to write about this later?"

"NO! You can't do that!" He grabbed for her mug with both hands – he had scared her by shouting.

"You don't have to shout, geezy creezy…"

"But you _can't_, okay? Not _ever_. Promise me."

She bit the end of her little finger and, hooking it, offered it to him. When he was confused, she did it again, indicted he should as well. Once he had, she locked pinkies with him "Pinky swear!"

"Ouch!" That was a new pain – he had never seen anyone do that, but it made sense. He made a mental note to make that standard for verbal agreements. "Let's get busy trying to figure out what needs to be changed shall we?"

**Okay, so here is a new one. I am going to try to keep posting as I write them so there may be another post tonight if I can get my act together. Hope you like it!**


	26. In Which Tosh Institutes Protocol 53

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

He got back to the house and parked the car. Joey had fallen asleep, and taking him out of the seat without waking him had been a chore, but the feeling of the small boy snuggled against him made it all worth it.

There were still a couple of hours before Susan would get home, and it was the day that Tallulah went to drama lessons after school, so he had some time to just be – not that he knew what to do with it. Moving Joey had caused him to awaken enough that he was no ready to get up and go. Jack had few phone calls to make, so he situated the boy in the living room on the sofa with a few books and went into the kitchen for some privacy.

"Tosh," he called through the comm. "I need you to do me a giant favor."

"What is it Jack?" Her voice was clear, meaning she was still at the Hub, working on computer updates, no doubt.

"I need you to institute protocol 53," he reached into the cookie jar that sat on the counter and got a few out, sticking one in his mouth whole as he talked.

"Protocol 53? Are you sure?" Her voice squeaked a bit. "Jack, that's a big one."

"I have never been so sure in all my life, Toshiko." He walked back into the living room and handed the baby a cookie for each hand.

"I'll get right on it then, Jack." She promised, and he could hear her already typing in the rat-a-tat-tat that he had found was distinctive to Toshiko.

"I'll owe you." She could hear his patented grin through the comm.

"You already do, Jack." Likewise, he could hear her shy grin that usually accompanied a light blush.

"You are a doll, Toshiko Sato! Remember, if you need me – _any_ Rift activity at all – you call me!" He was firm as he stuck another Gingersnap in his mouth.

He heard her sigh as he ended the communication. When he had taken off his coat and hung it in the hall closet - Susan liked when he did that without being asked – he went back to where the baby sat looking at books, cookie all but melting down his hands. Jack sat beside him and pulled the boy onto his lap. "How about we watch some telly?"

Joey bounced in his lap and turned to laugh at the man holding him. His baby blue eyes sparkled as he forced a laugh and patted Jack's shirt, leaving trails of Gingersnap as he did so. He hugged the boy and kissed his cheek before getting the remote and flicking the television on to cartoons. The two sat and laughed for whole before Jack noticed that his breathing had become even. He looked down to find Joey asleep once again. Thinking he could use this time to get a few things done before Susan showed up, he put the boy in his bed and went back to clean up the kitchen.

He was just finishing up the dishes when he heard someone come in and sit at the table. Turning, he saw Ianto. His mouth went into a hard line and he wiped his hands as he walked to him. "So, I see that you make your return."

Ianto looked at his hands, which he had folded on the table in front of him. "Never left, actually."

"So this is serious?" He took a seat next to him.

Ianto looked up. "Yeah, I think it might be, Jack."

Visibly hurt, Jack tried to hide it the best he could. "That's great. Really." _Why am I acting like this? I have Susan – I should be happy. But there's this little bit – this little bit of me that wants to have both of them._

"Actually, I needed to talk to – surprised that you're here." He turned to Jack.

Jack chuckled, remembering what happened. "Yeah, damndest thing – went looking for you and found me…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the team was worried that something had happened to you – me included – Yan, you _have_ to call us when you aren't going to show up…" He placed his hand on Ianto's. "So, after calling you about a million and two times, Gwen and I went by your flat. You weren't there – obviously – and as I was getting back in the car the most amazing thing happened." His eyes glazed over in memory.

"What was that?" He had never seen that look on Jack's face – not the whole time he had known him; not even for as closely as he had known him.

"I heard a name I hadn't heard in so long, Yan. One word that can change everything in an instant. One word that can make even the hardest man stop in his tracks." He was looking into his eyes as he spoke.

"And that word, Jack?" He never blinked.

"Daddy." Tears were starting to try to push through as he remembered the tug his heart had felt at the utterance of that one word.

"Oh, Jack, that's great!" Ianto didn't know what to do for his friend at that moment, so he patted his arm.

"Yeah, it really is. Ianto, I think for the first time, everything is going to be fine." Jack agreed, nodding. "What did you need to talk about?"

"It's funny, actually. I was afraid that I was going to say something that would upset you, yet, now, I don't think it will." Ianto noticed the cookie on the front of his shirt and resisted the urge to try to brush it off.

"What's that?" Jack looked at where Ianto's eye were on his shirt and smiled. Cookie.

"That I don't feel broken anymore." He tried to read if Jack was angry, but saw not even a glimmer. "There's something about Erin that makes me whole again. Good – no – great. She makes me want to live, Jack."

"That's wonderful, Ianto. I knew someone would." He realized what he had just been told. "What do you mean – 'want to live'?"

"I want out, Jack. I want you to let me quit." This was the hardest thing the Welshman had done. "I want you to Retcon me and let me be happy…"

Jack drained of all color as he gripped the table. "You what?"

"I want to be Ianto Jones again." e found it hard to look the older man in the eye.

"You are Ianto Jones. What would quitting Torchwood do for you?" He was almost frantic.

"It would make me normal." His voice was small.

"Yan, think this through. If you still want it in a week, I'll do it. Okay?" He stood and was standing behind the man now.

"Deal." He looked up at Jack. "One week."

"Please think it through." Jack kissed him on the tope of the head and Ianto closed his eyes.

**Here is a little extra for you guys for waiting so patiently!**


	27. In Which Ianto Quits

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"Are you sure?" Jack asked Ianto, who was now standing before him in jeans and a tee – not his customary suit.

The younger man put his hands on the desk and leaned forward. "You called Protocol 53 and you're asking me if _I'm_ sure?"

"How did you know about that?" Jack was taken off guard.

"I'm Ianto Jones. It's my job to know everything." His eyebrows went up as he talked.

Jack's heart fell to his feet. This is why he hated the thought of losing the Welshman. There was no way he could train another person as well as Ianto had already trained himself.

"And now I want out." His voice lost all of the playful tone it had held.

"Ianto, you know I can't just let you out. You _know_ there are certain things that have to happen to you." Jack's tone was one of regret.

"Yes, sir, I know."He nodded slightly.

"And you also know that when I Retcon you to take away the memory of working for Torchwood that _any_ memories you have – connected or not – will be taken?"

"Yes, sir, I know."

Jack stood now and leaned toward him. "_All_ your memories, Yan, not just the bad ones."

He held his eyes. "Yes, sir, I know."

Jack felt all at once betrayed and hurt. He had to sit. He could understand the man wanting to forget what had happened to Lisa, what had happened with the cannibals, the giant space whale; but wanting to forget Lisa herself – and Jack... "Ianto, you have to know that there is no reversing this. You may lose the memory of why you wanted this done."

"Jack, you have _no idea_ how I feel right now." Ianto relaxed his grip. "She's everything I want and need. I want to be there for her. Forever. If I stay with Torchwood, that's just not possible."

The older man leaned back in his chair and smiled. "So this is about love?"

Ianto smiled back. Jack had figured him out. "Yes, sir."

"I thought we decided you would wait a week..."

"No, _you_ decided I would wait a week. This can't wait. I want to start my life with Erin right now."

"Then I have to give you credit. But I'm not letting you out."

"I won't show up." He stuck his chin out defiantly.

"Ahh...but you _will_. You'll even make coffee." Jack smiled at his attempt to stand up to him.

"Are you threatening me?" Ianto was getting mad that he was not being taken seriously.

"Not at all – I'm offering you something better." His eyebrows went up.

"What are you talking about?" He was trying to keep his cool, Jack could tell.

"I'm taking you out of the field."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"We need a liaison. Think you're up to it?"

His shoulders slumped a bit. "That's what I am now, sir. It still means field work.'

"Not strictly. With my decision to put Protocol 53 into action, we'll need a few new members of the team." His tone was one of 'think-you-know-everything-but-you-don't-Ianto-Jones'.

"You mean setting up shifts?" Ianto was intrigued.

Jack nodded. "Seems like the lot of us are being domesticated – speaking of – what do you know about Tosh and Owen?"

Ianto looked down at where Tosh sat. She was smiling as she investigated the artifact in front of her. "What do you mean?"

Jack steepled his hands in thought, placing his pointer fingers to his lips. "Ahhh...something the great Ianto Jones knows nothing about?"

"Toshiko and Owen? No way!" Ianto was visibly shocked.

"Yes! I just noticed it myself. Guess we have been spending too much time away," Jack's look was unreadable. "That's why I was thinking shifts. That's how it was done at Torchwood One, right?"

The other man nodded, still trying to wrap his head around the concept of the two single members of their team dating one another. Somehow, two days away had been too long.

"Then it can't be that hard. Yvonne Hartman – rest her soul – wasn't one of the best directors Torchwood has ever had, but she knew her business. That place ran like a well-oiled machine. That was, until...well, you know what happened..." Jack paused and then realized that there was no strangled 'yawp' at the mention of Canary Wharf like he was used to hearing from his colleague. "Yan, what's going on?"

The Welshman's face held a somewhat worried expression. "You don't think this is all because of that artifact that Tosh has been working on, do you?"

Jack was forced to laugh, noting the frown he got from Ianto as he did so. "That turned out to be nothing more than an Intergalactic PEZ Dispenser – or it's alien equivalent. What we are experiencing right now, my friend, is something Torchwood is famous for making us forget – that we are human." He paused to let it sink in before continuing. "And humans love and lose and love again – even ones who are immortal."

"It's been so long," Ianto looked out the window again as he whispered.

"It has for all of us – except Gwen. It's time, Yan. We _all_ deserve this."

"So, what do we do now?" Ianto looked to the older man for an answer.

"I suppose we keep our eyes open for talent we can use."

"Right then," he turned his eyes from the window. "Do the others know?"

"Wanted you to be the first – call a staff meeting, will you, Yan?"

"Yes, sir." he stood and went to the door before turning. "When I said what I did about it being so long, you know what I meant, right?"

Jack looked at his hands. "I understand, Yan, I really do. It was fun while it lasted..."

"Yeah." And he was gone to round up the others.

Jack watched him leave, realizing that it was really and truly over for them. He waited for the pain that he always got in his heart when he thought like this and noticed it never came. Instead, all he could think of was Susan – of the way he felt about her, about her kids. Hell, it was even the way he felt when he had mentioned to Gwen that he was going 'home' that one night – it just felt so right. Things were really changing around Torchwood.

**Back in full gear for a few days. Hope that it was worth the wait. These chapters were fueled by massive amounts of coffee - and each had for packets (or more) of sugar. That is a bunch, let me assure you!**


	28. In Which There is a Tour

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

After an hour of searching for the peculiar, painful, and downright annoying beeping noise that the TARDIS was emitting, the Doctor found what it was.

"Aha! Oh, that's brilliant, that is!" He bounced over to Taryn.

"What was it?" Taryn bounced her head in time with him.

"You'll never guess." The Doctor rocked on his heels.

"Okay..." She turned from him.

"Well, go on..." He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me?" She looked at the hand.

"Guess!" The Doctor's hands and eyes danced.

"You just said I never would!" Taryn was beginning to suspect he was more than a little crazy.

"Well, try!" He pressed.

"Okay. It was the looney detector going off to warn me." She smiled her best smile.

He looked at her for a moment as of trying to process what she said. "Ice cream getting low – I guess there's an alarm to let us know!"

"Like I said – looney detector." Taryn shook her head. "How did you _not_ know? Didn't you put it in?"

"Yes – well, no – well, you see...that's complicated." He ran his hand through his hair, something that Taryn didn't fail to notice caused a very interesting result.

"Seeing as this is a time machine – I'd say it was time to start explaining." She set her hands on her hips and waited for him to begin.

"Let's walk and I'll explain as we go," he motioned to the hallway.

"Fine. I'd love to see how big this thing really is," she fell into step beside him.

"All right, then – a tour and a story."

"Deal."

They walked along what Taryn considered to be a somewhat plainly decorated corridor. However, the lighting itself was something to behold. Although there were no visible fixtures, the lighting was soft and inviting. She briefly wondered if there was a way to get that same effect in her room back home.

"Okay," the Doctor's voice cut through her thoughts, "It's all very simple, really. I'm what they call a Timelord – the last of them, really – end of the line, me. There _were_ more, mind you, but that's a whole other story...Anyway, as a Timelord, I regenerate – so it must have been..."

Taryn cut him off. "I'm sorry – regenerate? Like an earthworm?"

"Like a wha- Oh! No, no, no – not like that at all! Though I suppose that would be nifty if I could – wish I could ask the council about that, actually..." He paced excitedly as he spoke.

"Doctor? You were explaining something else to me? The regeneration thing?" she snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Right, right. Regeneration. I can – by using a special process – change my complete appearance to save my life in an emergency." He beamed at her, very pleased with himself.

"And you keep the same brain?"

"For the most part, yes," A slight nod.

"Then why is it you didn't remember about the alarm?" She was getting flustered now.

"Well, I only have trace memories – and the deep genetic ones, of course – but each me is a little different." The Doctor tired to explain further.

"And how many of 'you' have there been?" It was all making her head hurt.

He counted briefly. "Old codger, flute, old again, bit of fuzzy hair with long scarf, celery in lapel, _ugh_ that outfit(!), The Professor (thanks, Ace), (don't know what went wrong with that one), the brooding one – and me! That makes 10...'

"So, you're saying you have been different people – 10 different people to be exact?" She held her head.

"Well – yes." The Doctor thought that sounded perfectly reasonable.

"Why can't I hear the looney alarm going off?" She looked at him.

The Doctor cheerfully ignored her as they walked along. He made a mental note that the TARDIS kept popping up a certain door – one he hadn't seen before.

"What's behind _there_?" Taryn pointed to an ornately carved door.

"That, _Taryn_, is the library." He touched the door and it opened.

Taryn stood, her mouth all but hanging open for a moment, taking everything in. There were rows upon rows of books and it looked to the young woman like they were neverending. Off to her left, there was a plush sitting area with a couple of sofas and a tale. Again, the lighting was just perfect.

"What books are here?"

"Lots – and you can read any of them thanks to the TARDIS – she translates!" He watched her eyes looking around the room, trying to take it all in.

"Nora Roberts?"

"Yup."

"Sue Grafton?"

"All twenty-six volumes..."

"Wait! Twenty-six? She's only on 'T'!"

"Uh..."

"Oh, duh! This is a _time machine_. You have 'U' through 'Z' then?" She was excited now.

"Yup," He popped the 'p'.

"See you later, then." She called as she ran to the stacks. "Call me when we get where we are going."

"By the way," he called after her retreating form, "I love your stuff – read it all!"

She stopped now and turned. "All _one_ of it?" She laughed at her own joke. "You have my book in here?"

"Four actually," he told her. "One of Susan's as well – she's very odd, you know."

"Yeah, but we love her for it..." She thought for a moment. "Where would I find mine?"

"Doubt the TARDIS will let you – good luck!" He turned and went out the door without another word, leaving Taryn to explore.

**Do you know how hard it is to write for the Doctor? If you get in his mindset you want to do nothing but doodle on the page and that doesn't translate well here...**


	29. In Which Jack Tells the Truth

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"Lucy, I'm home!" Jack opened the door to Susan's house, only to be met by Joey launching himself at Jack's leg.

"Joey, come back!" A honey blonde young woman came around the corner, carrying a pair of pants that Jack now noticed the child was not wearing. "Oh, hello...'

The man smiled at her as he bent to pick up the child clinging to him. "You must be Nicole. I'm Captain Jack Harkness.'

Nicole blushed and hid the pants behind her as she offered her other hand for him to shake. "That would be me – Susan just called and said she'd be a little bit late."

Jack looked back at Ianto, who had driven them there. "And this is Ianto Jones. Ianto, this is the new Nanny, Nicole."

The younger man nodded at her before pushing past Jack and into the house. "Nice to meet you, Nicole. I'll probably see you around." he disappeared down the steps before Nicole could answer.

"Well, reinforcements are here now, have no fear!" Jack, still holding the toddler, shrugged out of his greatcoat, letting it fall to the floor. "You can leave them with me."

"Thank you, Mr. Harkness." Nicole blushed again, trying to look him in the eyes. "Oh! And so you know, Tallulah is at a friend's house. Susan okayed it."

"All right. Thanks. See you tomorrow, then?" He walked toward the kitchen as he talked.

"Yeah, I'll be here. Thank you – and – nice meeting you." She took a moment to pick up Jack's coat and lay it over the back of the couch before grabbing her backpack and heading out the door.

"Wow, buddy. Second day the women have left us alone." Jack remarked as he went to raid the cookie jar that sat on the counter.

"Kick-a-ball," Joey told him quite seriously, pointing to the cookie.

"Gin-ger-snap," Jack corrected him.

The toddler shook his head of white-blonde hair. "Kick-a-ball!" He insisted.

"Gin-ger-snap," the man dangled the cookie within the boy's reach.

"Snap?" He asked, reaching.

"Here go," Jack gave it to him and ruffled the boy's hair. He had set him down and was about to get the two of them a drink when he heard a small voice behind him.

"Wanker."

Jack turned and looked at the boy who was staring innocently up at him. "What was that?"

As an answer, he received a blank stare.

"Did you just say what I think you said?!"

"Probably." A familiar voice came through the door. "The rule around here is that if think you heard him say it, then he did."

Jack pulled her into a hug. "Then, your son, my dear, has a filthy mouth."

"Don't blame me," Susan looked up at him. "Probably learned it from your co-workers. That Owen sure can talk a rude game."

"He's dead," Jack muttered as he kissed her. "You know, I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Truth be told – I think Taryn taught him that. Sit, sit, tell me about your day."

They took their usual seats at the table as Joey wandered into the living room to play.

"Ianto tried to quit today," Jack laced his fingers together as they spoke.

"Why would he do that?" Susan looked at her nails. She decided she needed to quit biting them.

"I guess he and Erin are getting serious. He's here right now." He looked at the stairs.

"Really?! That's wonderful! Erin deserves someone as nice as him!" She could hardly sit in her seat.

"Well, I guess it's not that great for you – does this mean you'll have to work longer hours?"

"Not even. We decided to hire a second shift." He paused for a moment to look at her. "We're all getting a little too domesticated to do the job full-time anymore..."

"Is it me? I don't want to get in the way of your job, Jack."

"It _is_ you. But that's fine. I _want_ you to 'get in the way' of my job. It's been a long time since I had something that didn't directly involve Torchwood." he reached for her hands. "Susan, there's a lot you don't know about me."

"Then tell me, Jack. We can trade stories." She let him wrap his hands around hers. "That is – if you _want_ to tell me. I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to tell me anything." She felt like she was talking in circles.

He drew a deep breath, his shoulders rising as he did so. He figured he should start at the big one. "I can't die."

Susan looked at him, trying to process what that might mean. "Stop it, Jack. You and Lulu and those stories you make up! Now, you're the Highlander? Not likely."

"Susan, it's true. You saw where I work – it's _not_ a tourist center. Well, not completely – it's a tourist center up top. But down below, that's where I _really_ work." The more he spoke, the more desperate his voice sounded. He all but pleaded for her to believe him.

She stood up quickly, pulling her hands from his. "Jack, I'm not going to listen to this! Quit being silly. If you didn't want to tell me, then you shouldn't have even brought it up. There's no sense in making up stories." She walked into the living room to find Joey.

Jack followed her, insisting he was telling the truth – and, in fact, acting annoyed when she wouldn't believe him. "Susan, it's the truth! I'm not even from this century! I was born in the future – quite a while from now, actually..."

She had picked up the boy and was now walking with him to the bathroom. She stopped and turned to him. "Jack..."

"Susan, you _have_ to believe me." He held her shoulders. "There are _so many_ things about me that seem impossible, but it's _all_ true – _honest_."

"Fine, Jack. Prove to me that you are who or what you say you are." Joey wiggled in her arms.

"Okay. You go ahead and bathe him. Once he's down for the night, I'll prove it all to you." He watched as she went to do just that before tapping the comm he had left in his ear. "Toshiko?"

There was a moment before Jack got an answer. "Go ahead, Jack."

"Tosh, I need access to the Hub computers. Can you arrange that?" He walked back down the hall.

"Sure, is it the laptop we have listed at her address?"

"Yeah – have I got clearance?" He pulled the laptop from the cupboard Susan kept it in.

"One moment; unscrambling frequency." He could hear her typing for a moment before she continued. "Okay, Jack, call when you're done so we can seal it back."

"Can do, Tosh. Thanks!" He set about pulling up the files he would need as he heard the child splashing around in the tub.

**Argh! I have more chapters written, but due to present circumstances, they are all in a notebook on actually paper! I wish they would type themselves...Heh. Anyway, I am gong to be typing those in today as I idly sip my Iced Coffee + Hazelnut and sit at Borders. Mmmmmm...Iced Hazelnut...**


	30. In Which Ianto Tells a Story

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

Erin was in her room reading when Ianto knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

She looked up from her book and smiled, knowing he couldn't see her, but feeling that he could. "Please do."

He opened the door and peeked in before walking in and closing it behind him. "Well, I tried to quit today..." He draped his jacket over a hanger before hanging it in her closet.

"You what? Ianto, why?" She sat from where she had been laying.

"Tired of the job, I guess. Too much stress," he sat beside her on the bed after taking his shoes off.

Erin began to chuckle, but then coughed to cover it up. "Too stressful to work at a Tourist Office?"

He smiled slightly at the thought. He wished he could tell her the truth about his job, but knew she was safer believing the carefully constructed lie he had told her. "Yeah, well, doesn't it get way where you work?"

"Point well made," Erin agreed. "Sometimes I just want to throttle the customers." She pantomimed choking someone before falling back on the bed.

"Sometimes," Ianto admitted in a hush, "I want to strangle my boss."

Erin looked up at him, rolling onto her back. "Sometimes _I_ want to strangle your boss!"

Ianto laughed louder than he meant to before leaning to kiss her. "He wouldn't let me quit."

"See? That means you're important." She threw her arms around him. "So, what happened after that?"

He let himself be pulled down. "Well, I walked in, all ready to quit – and Jack told me 'no' – that's all there was to it."

"How can he just tell you 'no'? Isn't there some sort of rule about that?"

"He's Captain Jack Harkness – he makes his own rules." Ianto spoke in a mocking tone before continuing. "Well, it was more of a bribe, when it comes down to it. But it worked." He looked over at her.

"What did you agree to?" A look of concern crossed Erin's face. If there was one thing she knew about Jack Harkness, it was that he could charm the panties of Mother Theresa.

"I agreed to a raise, less work, and helping him find more employees," he frowned a bit at the recollection.

"That doesn't sound too bad. How did you manage that?"

"Not sure – but let's talk about something else." He turned from her and looked at the door.

"Like what?" She loosened her grip a bit.

"Like us." His voice broke as he spoke.

"Like what about us?" She rolled back again to stare at the ceiling.

Still looking at the door, he answered. "Like – everything." He turned on his side to face her.

"Ianto, what?"

"Where, well do we go from here?"

"Where is 'here'?" She felt a lump forming in her throat.

"Erin, I think I love you."

The room was suddenly very silent. If Erin had not been lying down, she would have fallen back a bit. She was grateful for the mattress beneath her. Ianto watched her every move as she turned to face him. There were tears in her eyes that did nothing more than glisten.

"You _love_ me?" She squeaked out.

"Yes. Does that surprise you?" He studied her face, wanting to remember this moment always.

Erin didn't know how to answer, so she stared at him for a moment, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way. "No, I was thinking about you all day. That should say something to you."

"It does." He kissed her again.

"What does it say?"

"It says you feel the same way."

"Then say it again."

"I love you, Erin Alley."

"I love you, Ianto Jones."

Again, the silence fell over them as they realized what had just happened.

"Well, then," Ianto stammered, "what do we do next?"

"Run away and live happily ever after?" Erin suggested without thinking.

Ianto raised his eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

"I...don't...know," she spoke slowly, unsure that she was saying the right thing.

"Then why say it?"

"It popped out before I could stop it." She tried to cover her mouth as if that could make all the words go back to where they came from. It didn't work.

He gently pulled her hands down. "Marry me.'

She sat upright on the bed quickly. "What?!"

Ianto looked up at her hopefully. "Marry me," he repeated.

Erin crawled off the bed, away from him. Ianto rolled to the side she had vacated to keep her within reach. "Don't joke like that," she warned.

"I'm not joking," he reached for her as he sat. "That would be cruel."

"You aren't cruel," she assured him as well as herself.

"That's right," he smiled a hundred-watt smile. "I was serious. Will you?"

"Ohgodohgodohgod," was all she could manage.

Ianto smiled at her hysterics. In truth, he thought he would be the one in that state when he had finally worked up the courage to ask someone. But it had been easy. He hadn't even planned to do it. I just seemed right. And now he was amused that she was having a panic. "Take a breath, Erin, love."

She did as instructed and felt instantly better. "Okay – fine now."

"Good," he held her hands in front of her and looked up at her. "Are you ready to answer?"

She nodded, biting her lip, knowing he wanted to hear her answer out loud. Swallowing, she tried to form a coherent thought. Her mind was still repeating her earlier sentiment. "Yes?"

He laughed gently at her. "Is that a question or an answer?"

"An answer." This time, her voice was steady.

Ianto's eyes sparkled. "And you said 'yes', right?"

"Of course."

In a very un-Ianto moment, he quickly stood and, letting go of her hands, began to leap around, 'whoop'ing.

Erin watched him, concerned, and, she had to admit, a little scared. "Ianto?"

He quit jumping around and grabbed her tightly. "Oh! I have something for you!" He rummaged in his pockets, finally producing a small, burgundy, velvet box.

Erin's hands went to mouth in shock once again. "When did you get that?"

He opened the box to show her the ring inside. It was a silver band with twist near the stone setting – which happened to be holding one perfect peridot. "You're going to love this story."

"Do tell." He had a way of intriguing her and she didn't try to hide it.

"Well," he started, slipping it on her ring finger, "when I was born, my Gran got it for my mam. It's my birthstone. She put it away until the day I moved out." He stopped to watch her admire it, amazed that it fit her finger perfectly. "She gave it to me with the promise that I would give it to someone who loved me as much as she did."

"It's beautiful!" This time she let the tears she had been holding in fall. "The story _and_ the ring."

He held her close to him. "Don't cry..."

"I'm not sad; I'm happy!" She spoke into his chest. "There was no one before me that you wanted to give this to? I find _that_ hard to believe. Didn't you think about giving it to Lisa?"

He had told her about Lisa the night of their 'electric kiss'. But he hadn't told her about Jack. He figured it was time. "Not once." And he was telling the truth about that too. Yes, he had loved her, but something had always been missing, he realized now – something he had found in Erin.

"No one else? You're sure?" She was watching the way the light was scattered by the cut of the stone.

"No – not even Jack." There. He had said it. Ianto waited for a reaction.

"Jack? Why would Jack..." her voice trailed off in realization. "You mean – you and _Jack_?"

He nodded lightly.

"Oh. Well, that _does_ explain a lot about the night you came to dinner..."

"It doesn't bother you?" It wasn't exactly the reaction he had been expecting.

"Not even a little. Why should it?" She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm not the jealous type. And besides, I got the man in the end – _over_ Mr. Jack Harkness. I _sooo_ win."

He put his arms around her as well. "I'm glad you feel that way."

"Let's not talk about the past anymore. We have plans about the future to make." She put her head to his chest.

"Agreed. Maybe we could go and get dinner first? I know just the place." His voice rumbled in her ear.

"Definitely," she agreed. "A celebration dinner is a great idea."

They stood, rocking for a moment before he spoke again. "You gonna tell Susan?"

She looked up at him. "You gonna tell Jack?"

"Nevermind," he smiled. "Let's keep it to ourselves for a bit. We can tell everybody at dinner on Sunday."

"Perfect." She accepted a kiss. "Let's go eat – I'm famished!"

"Let me get my jacket." Ianto started for the closet.

"No way! You'll make me look underdressed! Let's just go." She pulled him out the door behind her.

**What just happened there? Did he just do what I thought?! OMG! That Ianto is one sneaky bastard - I _never_ saw it coming! Erin and Ianto make me all warm and squishy inside, how 'bout ya'll?**


	31. In Which Taryn Gets Lost

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"How's it going in here?" The Doctor strode through the library door.

"This is excellent!" Taryn looked up from the book she was reading, showing him the cover.

"Glad you like it," he sat beside her. "You said you wanted to know when we got to where we were going. Well, we're there..."

She closed the book, noting the page she was on in her mind. "Well then, what do we do now? Put on costumes and try to blend in?"

"You can wear that. It's not like we're in the middle ages." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Then where – uh, _when_ are we?"

"1989 – Oconee County, Watkinsville, Georgia, USA." He smiled at the fact that they had arrived at the right place on the first try.

"Wow, that's when Susan was in high school – she was a Freshman." She rubbed her hands together in an 'evil genius'-type way. "This is going to be good."

"Do you know something I don't?" The Doctor was instantly curious.

"I know a lot from the stories she told. She should be really easy to find." Taryn got up, obviously ready for the adventure ahead.

"Okay – now – before we even go out, there are a few rules." He stood beside her.

"Rules?" She was busily taking her ponytail down replace it with two braids.

"Yes, rules." He began to count on his fingers as he spoke. "One – don't run off. Two – don't try to change something you aren't meant to. We're here to help Susan – no one else! Three – Don't run off."

"You said that one twice," Taryn pointed out helpfully.

"I know. It's important." He looked serious at her.

"Well, how are we supposed to help Susan? And more importantly, what are we here to help her with?" She bit at a nail as she asked.

He tugged on his ear, restraining the urge to pull her hand from her mouth. "Did she ever tell you about her first 'love'?"

"Uh – which? There were plenty of guys she talked about liking." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Well, this would be the one who gave her her first kiss."

"Ahhh...him. I remember _that_ story." She smiled, remembering the circumstances that lead up to that date. "Are we here for the big turning point?"

"Looks like it; what we need to do is simple."

"Won't anything we do change the way things are now?" Her head was starting to hurt.

"That's a bit complicated. You see, in order for her to become who she is now, we have to change this part. We already did in your present reality." He watched her eyes cross as he talked.

" Not sure I understand, but, okay." She held her hand up when he looked like he was going to try to explain. "Don't. Just tell me what I need to do."

"Okay – so, this is the day of the opossum. Do you know about that at all?" His hands went in his pockets and he rocked back onto his heels.

"Yes! This one is a good story!" Taryn bounced a little. "Do you want me to tell it?"

"It would help – I don't know the specifics. I only know what she wrote in her book."

"She wrote abou tit in a book? No wonder you think she's odd."Taryn shook her head.

"The story?" The Doctor gestured.

"Oh, yeah! Wel, as she tells it, there was a guy that was _so_ smitten with her that he couldn't begin to tell her how much. So he set this opossum loose with a sign tied to it." Taryn nodded as if this were some old Earth custom that he had not been informed of.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose in thought. "Urgh. What did the sign say?"

She thought for a moment, trying to remember what her friend had told her. She could recall that it had something to do with a car, but not quite what it was. While she thought and tapped her chin in a very comical manner, The Doctor tapped his foot impatiently. Finally, it came to her. "Subaru, I love you." She emoted as she said the words, proud that she had remembered.

"Subaru?" He gave Taryn a puzzled look, not quite sure what this had to do with the woman she was friend's with.

"Kind of a car. My best guess is that it was a pet name for her." She rolled her eyes as she spoke.

The Doctor joined Taryn in her eyeroll. "O-kay then."

"Yeah, I know. But you know what they say in small towns like this, right?" She nudged him with her elbow.

"I have no idea." And he sounded like he didn't know if he wanted to know.

Taryn cleared her throat and put on her best Southern Belle accent. "Nothin' says 'I love ya' like a note tied to the tail of a critter!"

The Doctor was barely short of horrified at the thought. "No? Really?"

"May as well," she laughed back.

There was a moment while The Doctor paused to collect his thoughts. He wasn't sure that he was going to be able to get through this adventure. He rubbed his eyes a few quick times before speaking. "All right – ready then?"

"As I'm ever going to be – lead the way!" Taryn put the book on the sofa, sure she'd be back to finish it after the short diversion they were about to take.

The Timelord lead her back down the all to the console room and to the door. "Do you want to do the honors?" he asked, indicating the door.

"Sure!" She was excited to see exactly what this version of the past looked like. Susan had explained it to her on many occasions and even shared pictures with her, but – as with anything else – really being there would give her more insight. She briefly wondered if it was really only going to be this one trip with The Doctor or if she could maybe get him to take a few places before he made her go back. After all, when one had a time machine, one had all the time in the world.

"Lead on, Miss Beall..."

"Sure thing, Doctor." She pushed the door open to see they were amidst trailers – the nearest one marked 'Portable 4 – Hutto'. "Wow, she wasn't kidding when she said she grew up a bit redneck. Even the school has trailers!" She wondered if he even understood that little joke she had made.

"We need to find Susan, any ideas?" The Doctor focused.

"Commons." Taryn recalled. "I remember because I remember thinking 'something uncommon is in the commons' sounded like a great idea for a play..."

"Ahhh..." The Doctor understood. "So, all we need to need to do is find the 'commons'. Do you think there are signs?"

"Not a chance," Taryn patted him on the back and set off to find a student she could ask.

The Doctor stayed on her heels so he would lose her – or vice versa. It took no time for them to spot Susan herself. She was sitting with a group of friends, laughing. It was the same laugh Taryn had heard many many times before.

"This must be the place," The Doctor observed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah – odd that no one else has stopped us. This _must_ be a really small town where the worst crime is a stolen chicken." Taryn looked around as she spoke.

"We look like we know what we're doing – that's usually enough. Keep you eyes open for the appearance of our guest marsupial of honor..." The Doctor reminded her.

As if on cue, said opossum trotted out with the sign tied firmly to his tail, but he was nowhere near the intended target. Taryn jumped into action and herded it towards Susan the best she could without being noticed. The Doctor stood back and watched, bemused, as the bottle blonde with hair that would put Hermione Granger to shame, jumped on her chair and began to shriek.

"Ahhh!" Her voice was shrill. "Who did this?!" She was pointing at the poor, confused creature.

"I did," a voice echoed in the large, high-ceilinged room - a voice familiar to Susan.

"Why?!" She was all but frantic.

"Because. I want you to go to the movie with me this Friday," he drawled, pushing his hands into his jean pockets.

From her perch, Susan of the late 80's inquired, "Why didn't you just ask me, Hank?"

"Well, hell, Subaru, I just did!" He sounded flustered that she didn't understand his intent.

She huffed for a moment before accepting. "Okay, Hank." Her hands went to her hips in a motion that Taryn instantly recognized. "But next time, please ask."

"Okay," he looked at the floor sheepishly before offering his hand to help her down.

"Is her voice always like that?" The Doctor asked Taryn, nudging her. But he found he was nudging air. He looked around and didn't see her anywhere.

"Taryn? Where are you?" He bumped into a group of boys with surfer-cuts and nicely tanned sinned leaning against the nearby lockers that lined the indoor commons area.

"Watch it, old man!" One of them warned, grabbing the man's trench lapels and tossing him to the side a bit.

"Oi! Let go!" He pulled himself away from them and smoothed his coat, still looking for Taryn.

The boys laughed at his frown and taunted him as he walked away. "Oi! Oi!" This was followed by malicious laughter.

"Leave him alone!" A voice with the vaguest tinge of a British accent called out. The Doctor turned to see who was defending him, The girl who had called out bore a remarkable resemblance to Susan, but there was something a little off.

"Thank you..." He fished for her name.

"Marie," she stuck her had out. "Glad I could help."

"Yeah, uh, maybe you could help me a little further and tell me if you saw my friend anywhere?" He ran is hand through his hair, trying to place the exact accent he was hearing, but failing.

"Sure. What does she look like?" She watched as he rummaged around in his pockets before finding what he was looking for.

Marie took it from him and smiled. "Oh! That's Holly, Wendy's sister – isn't it? C'mon. I'll show you where she and the deviants she calls friends hang out."

He was about to tell her she was wrong when she started to walk. Figuring it couldn't hurt, he followed her.

**These are taken right from my high school days. I really did have the opossum thing happen, but I changed the guy's name to be fair to him. But those jerks are ones I had to deal with daily. And I _did_ grow up in a town called Watkinsville - it's near Athens. Okay, Geography lesson over...**


	32. In Which Susan Meets Jack

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"Does he smell better now" Jack came into Joey's room to see him before he went to sleep.

"Tell Jack you always smell good," Susan joked, pulling a pair of footie pajamas on the boy.

"Daddy!" Joey pointed up at Jack with the finger he had been chewing on.

Jack bent and picked him up without hesitation. Susan's eyes all but left their sockets. "What did he just call you?!"

Joey flashed a smile eerily similar to the 'Harkness Grin' – which Jack was making as well. "You know your rule – if you think he said it, then he _did_."

"You taught him that!" She accused, standing up from where she had been sitting on the floor.

Jack laughed. "But I didn't! You can even ask Gwen."

Susan narrowed her eyes at the man. "Careful, I just might do that, Harkness," she warned. "But – when did this happen?"

"The other day," he finished zipping the pajamas Susan had been in the process of putting on the toddler.

"And you didn't tell me? Oh Gods! You think I taught him that – don't you?" She was horrified that he may think she was been devious.

"Susan, love, if the is something I have learned, it's that Joey learns enough on his own without prompting." He set the boy in his crib after kissing his forehead and hugging him.

He toddler fell to the mattress immediately, taking his cover and stuffed koala as he did so.

"Goodnight, Monkeypie," Susan said, blowing Joey a kiss as she pushed Jack out the door ahead of her. "What was..." She was cut off by a kiss.

"Let me show you something," Jack whispered.

Susan giggled before answering him. "Seen it, Jack Harkness – you need new lines."

He all but stuck his tongue out at her. "I'm being serious here. I _need_ you to know a few things about me."

She suddenly understood how important this was to him.

Jack took her hand and led her to the table where he had set the laptop up. "Tosh opened the top secret files on me. I need to know right now if you don't want to do this."

Susan looked at him for a moment, thinking. "Jack, anything you want to tell me, I'll listen to."

"All right then." He held her hands to his chest. "But if you think it's too much at any time, just tell me."

"Okay." She was worried by the way he was talking. It wounded like he had a deep dark secret that she may not want to know after all. But she trusted him and wanted to know as much as she could about him.

Jack pulled up his file and showed her a picture of a man with a coal-smudged face, his arm around a woman with dark hair who was not only heavily pregnant, but held a round-faced toddler on her hip. In front of the couple was a boy who looked like a miniature Jack.

"Is that your grandfather?" She brushed the screen lightly. The resemblance to Jack was uncanny. Those Harkness genes must run awful deep.

"Me," Jack corrected before pointing at the others in the picture. "Emily, baby Andrea, my son Thomas and," he touched the woman's belly, "Jack."

"I knew you were older than me, but this is ridiculous!" Susan joked, but looked at his face. He was not laughing. "You aren't kidding are you? How is this possible?"

"Are you okay with this?" He searched her face for the inevitable signs of distress.

"I might be." her hand went to his knee as she leaned forward. "When was this?"

"I'd say it was the early 1920's." He shrugged a bit.

Eyes never moving from the picture on the screen, she asked, "Where are they now?"

"Emily died a few years back – she was almost one hundred. Thomas is gone – he died shortly after this picture was taken. Train accident. And Jack – well, he was a good kid. Followed in his father's footsteps without even knowing it..." The tears tried to fall, but he fought them back.

"And Andrea?" She stood and pulled his head to her cheast, seeing how this bothered him.

He looked up at her, eyes glistening with unshed tears, a slight smile now on his lips. "Let's just say she went into the family business. .."

"Jack, I don't understand. Can we start at the beginning?" She frowned, trying to figure out what he was telling her.

"That might be a little hard, _I'm_ not really sure where the start is. But I'll give it a try." He pulled her to sit beside him. Facing her rather than the laptop, he started again. "I was born in the 51st Century in a place called the Boeshane Peninsula - think of Tatooine in the Star Wars movies and you'll be just about right – anyway, things happened and I became a Time Agent. I bounced around playing the confidence game before I met up with the man who has taken Taryn. I had a little mishap and became immortal. I hopped around for a bit before getting stuck and ended up working where I am now."

"Just how long have you worked for Cardiff Tourism, Jack?" She was trying her best to understand this fanciful tale.

He leveled his eyes at her. "You and I both know that I don't really work at a tourism office.'

"Right. I had wondered _what_ tourism center had an underground base..." She smiled weakly at him.

"I've been working for Torchwood for well over two hundred years." He waited for her reaction.

"Okay." She had a glassy look to her eyes.

"Susan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to see more pictures?"

"That _would_ be easier, I think." She rubbed her forehead.

He lightly grabbed her upper arm. " If it helps, you're coping better than anyone else I've told." he pulled her onto his lap. "And the others would _kill_ for this information..."

She leaned her head onto his shoulder. "It's just so much to try to understand at once."

"Well then, let's try this." He opened another file. "Torchwood keeps extensive records on everyone that works or has worked for them. Anything you might want to know about me from the time that I tried to get a fix on The Doctor until now would be right here."

Susan watched as image upon image of Jack flashed on the screen in a slide show. He was wearing uniforms in many of them, making her wonder what the draw was for the man. She reasoned that it was because, if he was telling her the truth about being immortal, that he could always be a hero. "Stop there." Susan pointed to the screen. "I know that's Tosh and there's you – but who are the old man and the handsome guy?"

Jack looked sadly at the screen. It was taken when he and Toshiko had gone to investigate a strange occurrence at an old dance hall. "That," he pointed to the old man who had caused trouble for them more than once, "is Bilis Manger and my son Jack."

"I'm not sure I understand. You talked like you never saw them again after that one picture. Is this another son named Jack?"

"Maybe that's a bit too much to bite off right now." He put his arms around her and held her tight.

"Fair enough."

"Do you want to look at more?" He whispered in her ear.

"What I want to know about is Torchwood. Who they are; what they do. How you're connected to them and why you stayed with them for so long..." She turned to face him.

"All right then – you deserve that much. Torchwood is a government agency. We deal with supernatural activity." Jack looked to see if she believed him.

"Okay – like the 'X-Files'? You're some kind of Fox Mulder?" Her tone was not one of confusion, but, rather, one of someone who was thinking about hw to process everything she had been told and sort it into the facts that were her life. "So – you can't die." He nodded, content to let her work this out in her own way, thinking that it was odd that this would be what she started with. "And you lived in lots of times and places, done lots of things?"

"I guess you could compare Torchwood to that – but X-Files is made up. It sometimes it feels as if I have done everything," he admitted.

"And whatever – whoever – you work for is only interested in helping, right?"

Jack nodded again, glad she was able to draw the right conclusions. He was about to add to it when there was a commotion from the downstairs.

"What was _that_?" Susan sprang from his lap and went to stand at the top of the stairs. She heard Erin's muted voice and smiled before returning to Jack's side. "It's those two downstairs playing grab-ass," she explained.

Jack smiled – that had been Ianto they heard. He knew that yelp all to well. "Susan," he tugged on her arm like a child to get her attention. "I had a reason for telling you all this."

"I'm sure you did, Jack."

"Don't you want to know what?" He fixed his eyes on her.

"Honestly, I've learned with you not to ask too many questions," she admitted.

"That hurts," he tried to put on his beat pout, but ended up failing miserably and smiling. "I had Tosh open up Protocol 53."

"Not helping – don't know anything about it. And besides, you've said so much already – I don't know if I'll be able to remember, honestly."

"Sure you will." He looked up at her and she was all but weak-kneed by the look in his eyes. She had always said that she'd love to meet a man who looked at her like that, but here he was and it scared her to death. He was baring his soul to her and she didn't know if she really wanted to know. He noticed her concern and quickly, but subtly, changed the look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she half-lied, not quite knowing what it was, herself.

"Are you sure?" He frowned slightly.

"Yes, Jack," she shook the look off her face and smiled warmly at him – the one Jack thought of as her 'patient mother' smile – and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Then why so quiet?" He closed his eyes, loving when she did that.

"Hello, Captain Overwhelming," she laughed a little, easing the tension and making them both feel a lot better.

"I guess I'm the man your mother warned you about," he sighed, hoping she wouldn't stop anytime soon.

"No, Jack," she corrected. "That man was about five-seven with too much body hair and a bad temper. You are _not_ that man." She kissed the top of his head. "I'm tired – you coming to bed?"

"Yeah – just let me shut this down." He watched her walk down the hall before putting the comm in his ear and tapping it. "Toshiko, we're all done here."

"Okay, Jack," a voice yawned back. "Closing connection now."

"Thanks, Tosh. And now, get home," he bossed before taking off the comm and placing it in his pocket.

**Okay - have gotten loads of questions about what Protocol 53 is - have no fear, all will be revealed shortly. I promise!**


	33. In Which Ianto and Erin Have Dinner

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

They sat at the restaurant waiting for their waiter to get to them. Erin loved the atmosphere as well as the fish and chips that they were famous for. Ianto must have remembered from one of their earlier conversations, delighting her to no end.

"You look happy," the Welshman remarked, looking across the table.

"I can't imagine why," Erin giggled, still trying not to do visible cartwheels.

Ianto smiled a half-smile at her, feeling suddenly shy. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in such a short time; how coffee had played a big part in what he hoped would be a long future. He wanted so badly to tell her the truth about his job. He shook the thought from his mind, content just to know that they would have a long time for him to tell her. "Still okay with your answer then?"

Erin looked from the chandelier she had been staring up at to the man sitting across from her. "Oh no, you aren't getting out of this now! No take-backs, Ianto Jones!" She pointed her finger at him in fun.

"No, no – nothing like that!" He held up his hands defensively. "Just giving you the chance to opt out."

"Opt out? You make it sound like stock trading – you sure you only work at a tourist office? No secret government job I should know about?" A look crossed his face. "What's wrong, Ianto?"

"Nothing," he was a terrible liar, and he knew it. He hoped she believed enough to keep her from asking more questions. "Just wondering where to go from here."

"Cold feet already?" She reached for his hand. "Really, Yan, if you want to take it back, now's the time. I'll understand."

He felt panic creeping up. "Oh God, don't think that!" He didn't want to lose her now that he had finally found her.

"Relax, I was joking," she soothed, wishing they were somewhere less public.

He visibly relaxed, a smile coming back to him. "What will we have, then?"

"Fish and chips!" Erin blurted, then laughed at herself. "I mean – that _is_ one of the reasons I moved here."

"You're kidding, right?" Ianto had never heard her talk about why she had come here from America.

"Well, only a little." She shrugged.

"What were the other reasons?" He was seeing a new side of her.

She counted on her fingers. "Well, the fact that you speak English – and not American slang was a primary factor. Then," she nodded in his direction, "the fish and chips. Three – getting away from my boring life. Four – the men..."

Ianto squeezed her hand to pause her. "The men?" His eyebrows raised.

"Oh, please! Like you don't know your hotness quotient! I mean, look at the fact that the tourism office they employ two of the hottest men in Cardiff. That place knows what it is doing!" Her eyes sparkled with what Ianto would describe as mischief if he didn't know any better.

"Okay – you got me there." Again, he wished he could tell her.

The waiter arrived then and took their orders. After they had talked with him and he left, Erin turned to Ianto.

"You know, Susan is going to go mental," she remarked, sipping her water.

"Yeah, well, Jack too." He laughed back at her. "This is so out of left field."

"Can't wait to see their faces on Sunday..."

He was quiet for a moment. "So, when are you coming to help me tell my family?"

It was her turn to be silent. "I hadn't thought of that. And there's my family back home."

"Oh, right. Wow." He got a bit of a glassy look in his eyes. "We didn't think this through very well..."

"Oh, don't worry," Erin scolded, a little more firmly than she meant to. "We'll be fine. It's not like we're doing this next week."

"Right, right." He looked relieved, realizing that she was a very realistic person. "When were you thinking?"

Erin looked up at the ceiling, her chin in her hand, thinking for a moment. "We have at least a year, I think. How about you?"

"Sounds about right." he hoped she hadn't heard the sigh he had let out before he answered. He felt lucky that she was so practical – so unlike Jack – or Lisa. She was so much her own person; Erin reminded him of no one save himself.

She caught him looking at her and held his eyes locked with her for a moment before she spoke. "I can't wait to meet your family. Tell me about them."

They were interrupted by their food making its appearance. They ate as the two of them compared their families, learning names and statistics they hadn't known before. The more they talked, the more they realized they were going to be okay. Finishing up, the couple fought over who would pay before Ianto simply handed his credit card to the waiter.

"Next time I pay," Erin asserted once the man was out of earshot.

"Fine, you can try," he put his arm around her as they walked out. "How do you feel about going for a walk?"

"Around the bay? You bet." Erin loved Ianto's little tours.

"Yeah, I want to show you something." He had made up his mind – he was going to show her Torchwood.

**Okay, so while I was typing this, "Me and Mr Jones" by Amy Winehouse came on – made me giggle and scared the people at the diner I like to sit and type at. I almost spilled my coffee, for Rassilon's sake!**


	34. In Which There is a Missing Piece

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"They hang out at the outside benches," the girl who had previously been using a familiar accent (which seemed to have gone) informed the Timelord as they walked down the hall.

"Well, hello. Where did your accent go?" His hands were in his pockets as they walked; his eyes were watching his feet.

"Oh, that," she bit her lip a moment, "I went to school in London for a bit. It comes and goes."

He shrugged. "So this 'Holly' – you know her?"

"Well, I know her sister Wendy. Neither one of them like me. Nobody really does – except Susan."

"Susan?" There must be dozens of Susans at the school; the name was common enough that it had been his own granddaughter's name.

"Yeah, if you were here earlier, you had to have seen her. That horrible excuse for a boyfriend she has sent that rodent after her with a note tied to it's tail." She paused to shudder visibly. "I'll bet she thought it was romantic, though. She would..."

He stopped now. "You know _that_ Susan?"

"Do _you_?" she was amply shocked. "You _know_ my sister?"

"Oh – she's your sister?" Now it made sense. Of course she would know her.

"Well, yes, but it's a long story. Let's find Holly first." She tried to change the subject as she pushed the door open.

They were now standing outside, trees and benches in a circle set into concrete. Over on one bench were a group of high-schoolers, all black hair and black clothing; all looked suitably tragic. And in the middle of them was the missing Taryn.

"Oi!" The Doctor yelped, trying to get her attention. "Time to go!"

She turned her head toward him and waved, but continued to talk to her rapt audience. "So, I was in my car and I was listening to The Cure – like you do – when all of a sudden..."

_AHEM_. The Doctor cleared his throat to get her attention again. Taryn repeated her earlier action before turning back to finish her story.

"So, anyway, there I am in my Mustang, minding my own business and wanting nothing but hot Krispy Kreme donuts..." Taryn heard the Timelord clear his throat again. "What?! Don't be so rude.

The group turned as one to look at who had interrupted this wonderful story. He felt seven pairs of eyes boring down on him and cringed.

"Don't mind them – they have a hive-mind. We can sit over here and wait for her to finish up." She pointed to a nearby bench that sat empty. "And your friend looks an awful lot like Holly, I think."

"Yeah, a bit, I guess. They all look alike to me at that age," he muttered before taking a seat beside her. "You were going to tell me more about how you know Susan?"

She perked up at this. "Yeah. She's my sister."

"But I've noticed you two don't sound the same."

"That's because we were raised apart. She grew up with dad and mom kept me." She scratched her nose.

"And you went to school in England? Where did she go?" These new facts explained a lot about how this affected Jack, as far as he was concerned.

"She grew up here. We didn't meet face-to-face until this year."

"Really?"

"Yeah – mom was afraid to let us meet. We were here a full year before it happened - we ran into each other in science class."

"And how mush older are you?"

"Younger, actually," she corrected.

"Younger? Did you skip grades?" There was nothing on this girl in the information he had on Susan and he wondered why.

She laughed, covering her mouth. "I'm only younger by ten minutes."

"Ahhh..twins. Brilliant!" the Doctor thought it would be better if Jack didn't know about Marie – no telling what he would think of it.

"Yeah, real brilliant." She sounded down. "Doesn't do any good when you grow up felling like you are missing something and then, when you find out why, the one person you hoped would be there acts like you don't exist half the time."

He patted the hand she had sitting on the bench. "I'm so sorry to hear that." He felt for the girl – it had to be hard.

She looked from his hand to his face. "Who are you anyway? A new student teacher?"

"Er, yeah – John Smith. That woman over there is my... friend - Ms. Beall – Taryn." He looked her direction to see if she had finished.

"Well, Mr. Smith, I don't see why you would want to know so much about Susan for anyway." Her tone had changed to a dangerous one.

"It's my job. In fact, I need to go and get my...Taryn so we can get back to work. It was nice talking to you, Marie." He stood and looked over to the group and found Taryn laughing at a boy with a severe haircut.

"Right. Nice meeting you too." Marie narrowed her eyes as he walked away from her without looking back.

The Doctor shook the odd feeling and went to grab Taryn away. "We have to go now. Tell your new friends good-bye."

She rolled her eyes and waved back as he all but dragged her in the direction of the TARDIS. "That was _really_ rude, you know!" She pulled her arm out his grasp.

"Yeah well," he looked around, ignoring her. "We need to get out of here before we change something we shouldn't."

"I could have been their leader, you know." She informed him, following his lead to the blue box.

"Really?" He arched his eyebrow at her. "Can't leave you here though. Met someone that might be able to help us later, though."

"Who?" She was interested in who he thought might be able to help them with Susan – she had heard stories about so many people that she was sure she would recognize any names he could give her.

He tugged his ear. "Did you know that Susan has a twin sister?" He opened the door to the TARDIS.

Taryn stopped cold. "No. She doesn't."

The Doctor blinked and held his hand on the door, not opening it. "What? This girl said she was Susan's twin – are you sure about that?"

"Uh, yeah. She would have said that, I'm sure." She pushed ahead of him into the console room.

He followed her. "Taryn, are you sure? This girl seemed to be telling the truth."

"Doctor, she has no twin. Not now, not ever." She looked in his eyes.

"Then we have a problem."

**Dun-dun-dun! What is going on here? Who in the hell is that?! Why is she saying she is Susan's twin? Is Susan keeping something from us? What is going on? ARGH!**


	35. In Which the Timing is Wrong

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

He walked into the bedroom and, upon hearing the shower running, emptied his pockets onto the dresser top. Among everything there was a small manila envelope containing one small white pill. He thought briefly about using it before deciding that he hadn't told her anything he didn't want her to remember. But, more importantly, he knew she'd keep the secrets.

"Jack," Susan called from the bathroom after he heard the water shut off. "Can you bring me a towel? I forgot to get one for my hair."

Smiling, he went to the hall linen closet to get what she had asked for. By the time h got back, she was stepping from the shower. "Here," he handed her the towel and stepped back, arms crossed on his chest.

"Thank you." She paused to wrap the towel on her head. "I was thinking about something you said."

"What's that?" He widened his stance to show he was listening.

"You said a lot of things a while ago, but one thing stuck out. You talked about 'Protocol 53' – what's that?"

He smiled. "Protocol 53 is something I had set up many many years ago. It allows for me to have a legal birth certificate as well as passport, among many other legal documents I would need in order to prove that I exist."

"You don't have those already?" Jack watched as she slipped a nightshirt without disturbing the towel atop her head.

"Never needed 'em," he was being honest. "Keeping off radar is generally a good idea for someone who's immortal."

"I've been letting you drive my car without a license?!" She was suddenly horrified.

"Way to put things in perspective, Ms. Bryant," Jack marveled at what she chose to fixate on.

"But what else does that mean, Jack? I don't quite get it. Why now?" She was drying her hair now and Jack found himself watching her every move.

"Huh?" He gave away the fact that he hadn't been listening at all.

"Jack," she said slowly. "What does it mean? Why now?"

The man was caught. This wasn't how he had seen this moment at all. Here he was, still in his work clothes, smelling like the abandoned, musty tube system that was Torchwood while she was wearing a nightshirt with holes along the hem as she busily dried her hair with a towel. He crossed to her and, taking the towel form her, tossed it over his shoulder before taking her hands in his. "Susan, I love you and the kids very much. Spending time with you these last few months has been..."

Susan cut him off by yanking her hands out of his. "Don't you dare do this, Jack Harkness!"

Her anger confused him and he stumbled back. "What?"

"Don't do this – please! Not now." Fat tears ran from her eyes down her cheeks, leaving visible tracks.

"I don't understand..." He could feel the wetness begin in his own eyes.

She turned sharply from him and went into the bedroom. "We don't need this – we're fine how we are. Don't mess up a good thing."

He was hot on her heels. Not knowing what to say, he scooped the things from the dresser and put them roughly back in his pocket. The small envelope fell to the floor under the dresser in his haste and lay there unnoticed. "I have to go."

She didn't try to stop him as he walked out to the front door, pausing only to put his boots and coat on. Once she heard the door shut, she threw herself on the bed before crying herself to sleep.

Jack turned back to the dor and took one last look before the sobs took over and he dragged himself to the bus stop.

**Okay, so I don't know what that was about! Wow, these characters have tempers and their own minds some times. I hope that this isn't the end of Jack and Susan. I had other plans for them. Oh well, maybe they'll come to their senses...Also, sorry that was so short. I'll post extra to make up for it.**


	36. In Which Erin is Tired

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

Erin's eyes had grown wide when Ianto had taken her into the Hub via the lift. Myfawnwy had been delighted to have visitors so late at night. Since Jack had been staying with Susan, she had missed their late-night "walks".

"Was that a..." she had asked, holding on to Ianto tighter than she already was, if that was possible. He supposed that he would have the fingernail marks in his arms for the next two weeks.

He chuckled. "Yes! And that's just the beginning."

"Ummm – I guess this means that you don't work for the Tourism Office after all?" She wanted to sock him in the arm but was afraid that the dinosaur she had seen was a glorified guard dog.

"Nope."

"So what is this place called?" She looked around, trying to draw it all in.

There was a momentary jolt as the lift settled into place. Once they had stepped off, Ianto sent it back to the surface, lest someone just stumble and fall in.

"This," he spread his arms wide and indicated the room around them, "is Torchwood."

"Torch what?"

"Torch_wood_. Where I work," he suddenly felt like this might have been a bad idea.

"What do you do here, exactly?" She looked around in confusion, trying to find a place where she thought that Ianto would fit perfectly.

"Personally?" He saw her nod. "I make sure this place runs smoothly – and the coffee." he laughed at the bit he had tacked on. "If you want to know what _Torchwood_ does, that's a lot harder to say."

"Try me," she challenged, sitting on the sofa heavily.

"Coffee first." Ianto told her and disappeared for a bit before returning to her with two steaming mugs. "We work for the government, but not really. I guess you could say that we investigate supernatural and alien activity in the area due to the placement of the rift right here in Cardiff."

"Great," Erin sighed, taking a large draw from her cup. "I'm marrying the X-Files' personal Barista."

"Hey now," he sounded offended as he joined her on the couch.

"I didn't mean it, really, Yan. But you h_ave_ to know that this is a lot to take in." Her eyes slipped shut for a moment. "And, suddenly, I'm very tired..."

He was glad now that he had thought to slip the barest dose of Retcon into her steaming beverage, knowing that it would only erase the parts of the night after the meal itself. "Then close your eyes. I'll make sure you get home okay."

She leaned on his shoulder, grateful. "I love you, Ianto Jones, no matter where you work."

He swore under his breath as he heard her breathing become steady.

**All right now – this is just ridiculous. Those hot men highjacked my story for a bit, but I think I have it under control. I talked to Jack and he said he'd think about talking to Susan. But as he said it, I cold have sworn he was looking at Nicole walking away...Jack _will_ be Jack I guess...LOLZ**


	37. In Which Taryn Does the Right Thing

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"What do you mean 'a problem'? Taryn was worried. The Doctor was using a tone of voice that sounded as if he were no longer in control.

"Who _was_ that girl?" He ruffled his hair in frustration.

"I don't even know her name. Maybe if you tell me _that_ then I can tell you if Susan ever talked about her." Taryn shook her head.

"Right! It was Marie. Did she ever talk about a 'Marie'?" He leaned in for an answer.

Taryn thought, running through the mental files she had on her roommate. "No, don't remember any 'Marie'..."

"Maybe I should go find out more. I'll just..." The Doctor was kept from opening the door by the sound of the TARDIS departing.

"I don't understand, Doctor," Taryn said, sitting on the jumpseat.

"Understand what?" He shrugged and went to join her.

"Why we are even doing this." She looked at him, resisting the urge to laugh at his hair, but just barely.

"I got a message from an old friend." The Doctor offered by way of explanation.

"And just how does that involve me?"

"Well, closest I can tell is that you influence Susan more than anyone else – and you have knowledge of almost every aspect of her life. That gives you the distinct power of knowing her better than she knows herself. You know her hot buttons and how to avoid them – or use them to the best of your ability."

"Okay, that's true so far. But _why_ are we doing this? _Why_ is it so blasted important?"

He turned to face her fully, his leg tucked under him. "Believe it or not, the fate of major parts of the universe depend on the actions of Susan."

"How in the _hell_ did she get to be so important?" It came out a bit more spoiled-sounding than Taryn would have liked.

"Well, if all goes well..."

"Listen. I am going to need you to tell me why I should do this. Right now, all I know is that you feel like it saves part of the universe from a horrible fate. Now, while I am all for saving the universe, I want to know what is going on – _in detail." _ She stared him in the eye, daring him to look away.

The Doctor sighed. "We have some time before we get to our next destination. Let's go grab a bite, shall we?"

They walked together down the hall, silently, until they reached an elegant dining room with a table set for two and a wonderful selection of late lunch goodies.

"How did you do this?" Taryn asked as he pulled the chair out for her.

"This would be the work of the TARDIS. She must like you," he explained, taking his own seat.

"It all looks so good!" A warm hum passed through the hand Taryn had on the table. "Now – tell me what is going on."

"All right." The Doctor popped a chip into his mouth and began, "I got a message a few days ago – before I picked you up – from a very very old friend."

"And it has to do with Susan?" She picked at the salad in front of her.

"Yes, though I didn't know that at the time." He frowned at her. "You know, if you pick all the lettuce out, there will be no salad to speak of."

"Oh, haha. I don't like big chunks is all. There'll be plenty left, don't worry your pretty face." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Quit watching me and go on with the story already!"

"Right." He tore his eyes away from the madness that he felt he was observing. "So, this old friend was in a bad way. He needed my help or he would have died."

"Good thing you're a doctor."

"Sure. Not a _real_ doctor, per se...Anyway, and this is where it gets tricky – seems you and I share a common acquaintance."

"Susan."

"I wouldn't know her on sight. I saw her for the first time ever today." Another chip.

"Then who?" She happily munched on a cherry tomato she found in her salad.

"Jack."

She choked a little. "So, Jack contacted you?"

"Kind of." He tugged his ear again. Taryn made a mental note to ask him if she could look at it later – when Joey did that, it meant that his was bothering him.

"Either he did or he didn't." She narrowed her eyes.

"Well, it was his grandson." He explained.

"Jack has a _grandson_?!" She stopped herself from choking again. "I _knew_ there was something not right about him..."

The Doctor tried again. "His _future_ grandson."

"Oh well, then, that's different. But how does that involve – OH!"

The Doctor nodded, smirking smugly. "Seems there was a problem with great-grandpa." He popped the 'p'. "And young Cobbly saved his life."

"Cobbly?! Who names their child _Cobbly_?" Taryn wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Granted, my brother wanted to name his first son Tegan – no counting for taste..."

"Oi!" The Doctor yelped. "I'll have you know I used to know a very nice Tegan. Good respectable name...and it would be Jack's child that named her son Cobbly."

"Oh, right. Forgot. What was Cobbly's mother's name then?" She wondered out loud.

"Not important. Besides, I don't know. Didn't think to ask him. Wasn't important at the time." He muttered the last bit.

"Well, what happened?" She looked at him. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"I have to. But I have to tell you some backstory first. Jack has – had – a little brother. That brother did some very not good things that almost cost him the lives of two of the members of his team."

"His tourist office team? They sound tough." Taryn's sarcasm seeped out.

"Oh for – Jack doesn't work for a tourism office!" He was getting flustered with her. "He works for Torchwood. And before you ask – it's an organization that investigates aliens and supernatural activities related to them."

"Oooo – X-Files Cardiff?" Now she was listening.

"Yeah, sure. But Jack would probably go spare if he heard you call them that." Actually, The Doctor thought it would be more than a little funny to hear his reaction.

"I'm gonna call him Mulder from now on," Taryn decided.

"Just don't," The Doctor ruffled his hair again. "Anyway. Through some accident involving Gray (that's the little brother), Jack loses his head. And not just figuratively. Cobbly, being the diligent great-grandson he is, is there to save him.

"What a wonderful family they have." He was unsure if that was sincere or not. "Wait – did you say 'loses his head'? Exactly how does one recover from that?"

"As far as I can tell, Cobbly puts the head into a special solution that somehow maintains both brain function and oxygen delivery. This is, after all, no young boy we are talking about; he's already an accomplished scientist with a few awards to his credit by this point."

"Good one, Cobbly." There was genuine admiration in that remark.

"Indeed." The Doctor was forced to agree.

"But why all this?"

"Well, like I said – without Susan, there's no Cobbly."

"I don't think that Susan will like that her great-grandson is named 'Cobbly'."

"I don't think _that_ is the issue here."

"Then what is? Didn't we do what we needed to?" She swiped a fry from his plate.

"One more thing. Do you know a 'Keith'?"

Taryn choked yet again. "Uh, yeah. Much to my severe distaste. What does he have to do with it?"

"Well, right now, we are on our way to meet up with him."

"Urgh. No."

"You have to. Well, _we_ have to. _We_ have to introduce him to Susan."

"Good Gods, why?! I _like_ her. I don't want to know that I am the one who is responsible for the fiasco that lasted 16 years of her life (give or take a month or two)." She looked at the alien like he was completely out of his mind.

"But you _have_ to! Otherwise, none of you will move to Cardiff and she won't meet Jack."

"But she has. I don't _have_ to do anything."

"Wrong. It's only that way because Susan is a fixed point. And we've done this before. So, we have to do it again."

Taryn stared at him. She still didn't understand, but she was resigned to the fact that she had to do this. As much as she pretended to hate Jack, she knew he was good for her friend. And if she _had_ to do this, as The Doctor insisted she did, she would. But she didn't have to like it. Besides, without Keith, she never would have met her either. "All right. Fine."

"Brilliant. I knew you'd do the right thing." The Timelord beamed proudly at her.

**Okay, so that was longer. Hope it was as fun for you as it was for me. Taryn is kind of a smart ass skeptic. She can be like that, though. And we love her for it. And I happen to know for a fact that she is only acting in Susan's best interest. And I have John Barrowman singing songs from Red Red Rose in my ear. Not fair that he is so adorable. I know a lot of men who need even a thousandth of that. For example? Not even going there - LOLZ!**


	38. In Which There are Secrets

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"You're here early." Gwen came into the conference room to talk to Jack.

"Yeah." He looked up from the report he was reading only long enough to answer, and then returned to his reading material.

"How are the kids?" She took her usual seat, noticing there was a folder there.

"Wouldn't know." His answers were staccato and he didn't even bother looking up this time.

"What? Why?"

"Gwen, butt out."

Taken aback, the Welshwoman looked very much like a fish. She sat quietly, knowing she had struck quite a nerve with her boss.

Ianto was the next to arrive in the room. He was smiling from ear to ear. Dropping a box of donuts on the table, he turned to smile at Gwen. "How are you?"

"Good – and judging from you expression. I'd say that you are too..." She smiled her warm, inviting smile.

He sighed contentedly. "To say the least."

Jack grumbled behind his folder before closing it and stalking out of the room.

"What was that about? Is there trouble in paradise?" Gwen asked, hearing Jack stomp up the steps to his office.

"How should I know?" Ianto fished a donut from the box.

"Didn't you stay with Erin last night?" Gwen went after her own donut.

"Jack wasn't there. In fact, by the time we got there, Susan had cried herself all red-faced and puffy." He took a bite for emphasis.

"Susan? That's not good."

"You know how Jack can be. Probably said something stupid. Anyway, Erin was sleeping when I brought her in. After I had tucked her into bed, I went back to the kitchen, but Susan wasn't in the mood to talk about it." He shrugged.

"You need earlier nights, Ianto Jones. You're gonna wear that poor girl out dragging her all over Cardiff giving her fake tours." Gwen half-heartedly punched his arm.

Ianto looked around to make sure Jack wasn't returning before giving her an answer. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes," she leaned closer.

"So can I," he leaned back in his chair and smirked.

Gwen glared at him with such a look that Ianto thought for a moment about hiding under the table for the next few days. "Not funny. Spill."

"I asked Erin to marry me last night." His voice broke as he announced it to his co-worker.

Gwen jumped up and hugged him. "How wonderful!" It was her turn to check for outside ears. "You heard about Tosh and Owen, right?"

"No." It hurt him a bit that Tosh had news he didn't know about. They had once been so close. "What is it?" He asked, trying to hide his obvious disappointment.

She sat on the table in front of him. "Well, you know that close call they had last year – what with Owen getting almost killed and then the incident with Gray..." She pushed her hair from her eyes.

Ianto nodded. It was a sore spot with all of the members of Torchwood and they tried not to talk about it if they didn't have to.

"Well, it seems that shortly after that something was going on between them. Tosh reckons it was because they had such close calls and were forced to rely on each other, but if you ask Owen, he says it was really only a matter of time before she realized how good looking he was..."

"No kidding?" He was suitably impressed that they had kept it out of the office. Thinking back though, there were a couple of times when he could have seen that there was something, but it wasn't big and obvious. He had to hand it to them, they knew how to do discrete.

"No kidding." She waggled her eyebrows at him and finished off her donut.

"Good for them. How is that going?" He wondered if Jack knew, but, based on his behavior, he highly doubted it.

"I didn't tell you any of this, okay, Ianto?" her voice was a conspiratorial stage whisper. "But let's just say that you and I aren't the only Torchwood employees with impending nuptials."

"What?! When did you find out?" He swallowed a bit of his donut wrong and began to sputter in an attempt to catch his breath.

"We went out last night – nothing else going on – which kind of bothers me. But that's another story isn't it? Anyway – I may be the first one they told after telling one another. So, when they _do_ get around to telling you, _act_ _surprised_."

"Well, that goes without saying. Does Jack know?"

"Does Jack know what?" Gwen's lips were moving but Jack's voice was coming out, a trick Ianto found quite impressive. Then it sank in.

"Jack!" Ianto gasped.

"Does Jack know what?" He repeated, looking down at them with his hands set on his hips.

Gwen thought quickly. "That Rhys was going to ask you to stand with him."

"Yes, Yan, I know that." Jack fell back in his chair. "Anyone know where Tosh and Owen are?"

As if on cue, they came through the conference room door, arguing and laughing.

"Not even, Owen!" Tosh finished the conversation they had been having before taking her seat. "Oooo – crème-filleds!"

Ianto stood and went to fix the daily morning coffees, but not before seeing Owen putting up a good fight for the last creme-filled donut. His phone tang as he walked into the place where the coffee pot lived – his domain for the most part.

"Erin," Ianto kept his voice low. "How are things going there?"

A sigh came from her end. "I can't get her out of bed. She even called into work today. It must have been some fight..."

"Must have – Jack is pouting and stomping around like an obstinate child. Has she given you any clue as to what happened?" He tucked the phone on his shoulder so he could set up the coffee pot.

"Every time I try to ask her questions, she starts crying again – these big fat sobs that render speech useless. But the Nicole showed up about an hour ago – bless her heart for that – so Joey is being taken care of. I swear, I have _never_ seen her like this. Not even over her kid's dads. Jack must have really screwed up." He could hear the sound of crinkly paper rustling.

"What are your plans for the day?" He poured the water in.

"I'm going to work in a bit – are we still meeting for lunch?" She popped the candy she had unwrapped into her mouth.

"Wouldn't dream if missing it." He smiled. "I'll see you then."

"It's a date. Maybe you could take me on that walk you promised me last night before I got so tired?" She had forgotten, Ianto sighed inwardly. He had erased the Hub tapes already to cover his tracks. There was no need for it to be brought up again.

"I love you, Erin."

"I love you, too."

He hung up and waited for the pot to finish perking before joining everyone back in the conference room for the morning's briefing.

**Sneaky Torchwood! I swear! I didn't mean for this to happen, but it only seems right now. I couldn't let Owen and Tosh die. I just couldn't. So I altered it a bit. And I have to let ya'll know that I have a few answers about who and what took Gray coming up. Came to me as I sat in Border's coffee shop drinking the good stuff – iced coffee add hazelnut. Sheer brilliance fueled by caffeine! LOLZ**


	39. In Which The Doctor Understands

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"Athens, Georgia, Nineteen Ninety, AD," The Doctor threw the door open.

Taryn poked her head out. "Looks normal enough."

His head appeared above hers. "Good. Don't want to get into any trouble." He looked out for a moment before looking back down at her. "What exactly were you expecting? You weren't much younger."

"Well, I was thinking it was where she grew up – it must have something odd about it." She smiled back up at him.

"And that's not even nice." He informed her.

"But true. Where do we need to be?"

"That big brick building right there. Says 'Tate'." He pointed across the parking lot.

"And what are we doing here?" She stepped out, pulling the Doctor behind her.

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask far too may questions?" She smiled a toothy grin at him. "Well, news is that Susan is in a Sci-Fi fanclub here. You know - Star Trek, Star Wars, Quantum Leap – that kind of thing." He looked around, trying to find evidence that they were in the right place. Without trying too hard, he spotted a green Volvo with a Starfleet Academy sticker on it.

"Urgh, dorks." Taryn stuck her tongue out like the word itself tasted bad.

"Oh, now, they're harmless enough," he scolded, stepping on the sensor for the automatic door.

"You only say that because you aren't a woman. I dated one. I was bad..."

They were barely in the building when someone bounced by them excitedly – a blur with two ponytails. "Have you seen Leila?"

The Doctor froze. It had been so long since he heard that name. What were the chances of a Susan and a Leela being friends? "Excuse me, did you say 'Leela'?"

"Yeah – I lost her. She looks like me only taller. Or rather, I look like the shrinky-dink version of her. More or less. You seen her?" the perky blonde asked the newcomers. Taryn recognized her instantly.

"Nope, but we'll be on the lookout for her. Who should we tell her is looking for her?" The Doctor answered when Taryn found herself unable to.

She thought for a bit. "Tell her 'Sujo'. And before you ask, it's 'cause 'Cujo' was taken..." She was already halfway down the hallway when she answered.

"Wow. Nerd transformation much?" Taryn watched her retreat. "She looks _really_ different that the last time we saw her. She looks different than she does now too. That was _interesting_ to say the least..."

"Liked the hair." He smiled, hands in pockets.

"You would. I had to break her of that habit last year." Taryn sighed, remembering what a bad two weeks that had been.

"No wonder Jack likes her." He raised his eyebrow and Taryn punched him in the arm.

"So," she watched him rub where she had socked him. "We're here to find Keith, right?"

"I assume you know what he looks like?"

"Yeah, got that covered." She walked over to a directory hung on the wall that indicated what was going on in what room.

"She might be here." Taryn pointed to a room indicating 'Susan and Leila's Stalking Game'.

"Good detective work, Watson. Now how about him?" He rubbed his eyes.

Taryn ran her finger down the list. There were three Keiths listed as having games going on with no indication of last names. "We're just going to have to look for him."

They walked down the hall, peeking in the windows looking for anyone who could be Susan's Ex, but not having much luck. They exhausted their resources and went to the large room to ask around. On the way there, they ran into someone Taryn would easily describe as "Susan – but taller'. "You Leila?"

She nodded, clearly much quieter than her shorter counter-part.

"Sujo is looking for you," The Doctor passed along, using a stage whisper that made sound like he were playing an elaborate spy game.

Leila immediately warmed to the man. "Which way did she go?"

The Doctor pointed, "She bounced off in that direction."

"That would be her, then. I just came from that way. She must have ducked into the common room to flirt for a bit. I swear, some days you can't keep her away!" She stopped and looked at the pair, who were exchanging a look based on the last comment. "How rude of me – is that where you were going too? I can show you around."

"That would be brilliant!" The Doctor said, following her.

Taryn rolled her eyes. Leave it to him to be sweet on the tall nerdy girl with glasses. Sometimes, he was as bad as Jack.

"Walk this way!" Leila proceeded to drag one of her legs and feign a hump. She wasn't as boisterous as Susan, but Taryn could easily see where the two would be good friends. Though silly, the taller girl was clearly the more grounded of the two.

Leila led them into the room, where there were rows of tables set up. Every table was packed with both males and females starting at the age the girls were and gong on into their fifties or so (granted there were few females, but there were some). She stopped at one and introduced them, "Mike, Yorick, Mike, Robert, Danny, (oh, there you are, Sujo!) and Alain, this is..." She realized then that she had not gotten the visitor's names.

"I'm John Smith and this is my, uh, sister Taryn." Taryn smiled an almost pained smile at the group.

"Hey," the table spoke as one unit, not wanting to be disturbed from the game they were playing.

Susan got up and wandered off with Leila, leaving Taryn and The Doctor to do their own bit of investigating. She was going to comment about how rude Susan was being to her when she realized that the girl that was in that room didn't know her yet. She was going to remark on this to the Timelord when she felt someone looking at her. "Excuse me, do you know Keith Taylor?"

He shook his head, "If he's new, Jim'll know. He's the one sitting right over there at the membership table – he looks like the lost Beatle." He pointed to the streamer-covered table near the door.

"Thanks," she started for the table and then turned back. "I got this one, Doc." But he still watched to make sure she found the correct person to talk to before doing a little investigating on his own.

Among the other tables were people playing Axis and Allies and Risk. But it was what – or rather who – was sitting in the far back corner that interested him. He walked over to talk to her.

"Oh, hello," she said, seeing his converse in her direct view. "You haven't been at school since that first day."

"No," he stood over her for a moment before sitting beside her on the floor.

"You lied. You aren't a teacher." She never looked away from the book she was reading – 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'.

"You're right. And you aren't Susan's twin." He looked over his glasses at her.

"Touche. Game well played." She set her book aside.

"Who are you then? You aren't human." He used his sonic screwdriver. "That is _not_ a human signature."

"I told you – I am Marie." Turning to him, he was sure he saw her features waver for a moment. But then she was back.

"I don't think you are being totally truthful with me." He was keeping his voice as even as he could so as not to draw any attention to them. That was the last thing they needed right now. "I think you are much, much more. And I think you should tell me the truth."

"All right, Timelord, you win. I see that you didn't know that I knew what you were."

He tried not to act shocked, tried to keep the upper hand, but his initial shock was still playing on his face. "How did you know?"

"I started out following you. _Everywhere_. Then I learned you had nothing I could use. That is, until you picked up someone who became something extraordinary. I bent time and space to get something to bargain with. In the end, that went badly as well. Thought I would give it another go – that's what I am doing now." Again, her features wavered.

Susan's voice was there suddenly. "Are you getting pizza? I'm collecting."

There was an instant change in the alien calling herself Marie. "Uh,no, I didn't bring any money. Not hungry anyway."

Susan smiled down at her. "I gotcha covered if you want some. Just let me know, you don't eat nearly enough, you know. And I was asking him more than you anyway." The Doctor wondered how she did that without taking a breath. He looked at her then. With the two blonde wavy ponytails, she resembled a harmless cocker spaniel puppy – eager to please. Her blue eyes shone with both kindness and mischief. It was easy now to understand why people liked her. There was just something that seemed to invite people to join her in her world. Maybe it was her warm smile that started at her eyes and worked its way across her entire face, maybe it was something different. At any rate, he could see the man who had come to see him the other night to ask for help as the perfect combination of both her and Jack. "No thanks, I ate before I came."

"Okay then," her hands went to her hips and he felt suddenly like a naughty child getting into trouble. "But next time you come, remember that we order pizza – save yourself some trouble." She winked and bounded away. He watched her, knowing that the universe _needed_ her to be with Jack, and knowing exactly why.

However, this alien sitting beside him was trying to keep that from happening – keep his friend Jack and Taryn's friend Susan from being happy. To his knowledge, alien races didn't just muck about with things to cause unhappiness, there was generally a reason. And he intended to figure it out. He repeated the name she had given him over and over. "Marie...marie...muh-ree...muuuuhhh-reeee." the more he said it, the less meaning it had. He looked over to see the alien in the teen's body attempting a warm smile and failing horribly.

"It's funny what they don't see when the don't want to. Humans are a funny lot – there especially." She indicated the group that Susan had gone to join, who were now laughing. "They accept anyone – humans don't like to be outcasts."

"I don't understand; who are you again?" He knit his eyebrows together.

"Idiot Timelord. Get Susan herself to tell you." She called the girl's name while looking at him. "Sujo!"

"May-rhee!" The call came back.

All at once, The Doctor went pale and weak feeling. "You _can't_ be."

"Oh, but I _am_."

**Oh, but she's what?! Haha, cliffie. I are evil. These people are based on people that I grew up with. Couldn't say the name of the group because it was the Timelords. That would have been sticky to explain. LOLZ**


	40. In Which Susan Goes Out

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"He hates me, Erin," Susan looked up at her friend with red, puffy eyes. "He'll probably never want to talk to me again. Ever."

"Oh come on, this isn't 'Tweener Angst Theater'! I would expect this from Lulu, but you? You've been through worse." Erin sat beside her friend, rubbing her back.

"I am an idiot," she stated simply, falling back into the pillow.

"Okay." Erin decided, pulling herself up from the bed. "Enough. Get out of bed and get in the shower. You – of all people – are _not_ going to do this."

Susan looked up at her, shocked. She wasn't used to hearing Erin be forceful. She was torn between pride and confusion over the way the young woman had changed since they moved to Cardiff – she was much more confident now. "You're right. I'll go get in the shower, take something for this horrible headache and go on – just like always. Maybe get a little shopping done."

"You could go into work." Erin reminded her.

"Took a personal day," Susan corrected her. "I think I deserve it."

"Okay, but really – no more of this. I don't care who he is, no man is worth this. _Not_ _even_ _Jack_." She meant every word as she said it. Erin herself wondered when she had changed – she liked the new her an awful lot. "I'm going to work and you had better not be in here playing 'pity party' when I get home.

"Yes ma'am," Susan mock cowered, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, letting them dangle.

Erin laughed as she left Susan's room to get ready for work.

Once her friend was out the door, she dragged her feet into the bathroom to take a shower. Her head was pounding from all the crying she had done the night before. She'd been stupid; she knew that. But she couldn't risk a repeat of her last relationship – it had taken far too much out of her. And she _couldn't_ put the kids through that either. Not again.

The hot water washed all of that away. She could feel her head getting clearer – with the giant exception of the headache. But that was easy enough to take care of. Susan made up her mind to call Jack and apologize, maybe even go by and see him once she got dressed. It was, after all, really all her fault. He had overwhelmed her a little and it triggered something in her mind that made her want to get out. It wasn't that she really wanted out. Jack was so different than Keith had been. So very different in many ways. He deserved to know what she had been thinking though, and she was going to make sure that he did.

As she toweled off, she could hear Nicole playing with Joey. It sounded like she was trying to teach him how to play hide and seek, but she couldn't be sure. The only thing that was for certain was that it involved a lot of laughing and running for both of them, with the occasional squeal from what Susan hoped was Joey, but, honestly, could have been Nicole as well. The toddler had been having so much fun with her for the short time she was working for Susan that she and Jack had talked about asking her to move in. Jack had done a good job picking her and she was very grateful.

Jack again. She supposed she'd have to go to him instead of calling. Susan hoped that he would understand. After all that he had said the night before, she didn't see why he wouldn't. He had seen and done things that she would only imagine. This had to be something he had dealt with before.

She got dressed, thinking she would even wear jewelry – dress up a bit. Pulling her favorite earrings out of her small jewelry box, one fell to the floor and rolled underneath the dresser. She dropped to her hands and knees to retrieve it and found the small envelope that had been in Jack's pocket. She peeked inside and saw the tiny right pill. _Leave it to Jack to carry aspirin_, she thought, putting it in her pocket for later. Her headache had let up for the time being, but she didn't want to take any chances.

Checking herself in the mirror one last time after putting the stray earring in, she blew herself a kiss. She had to go and fix this fiasco, Erin had been right.

"Nicole," she called as she stood at the door. "I'm going out – try and track Jack down for lunch. If he calls, could you tell him that I am heading his way?"

"No problem," Nicole replied from somewhere in the kitchen.

"And Lulu should be home after school. If she calls and tries to talk you into anything else, don't be afraid to tell her no."

"Gotcha. Anything else?" She was in the doorway, drying her hands on a towel.

"Yeah – no matter how many times that little charmer flashes his best smile, he only gets two cookies at snack time." She pointed at the blonde head peeking around the young woman's legs.

"Busted, little man," Nicole told the little boy before looking back at Susan. "It's hard to tell him no when he does that – must have learned it from his dad." Nicole got a bit of a dreamy look as she thought of Jack.

"But he's not..." Susan started, but thought about what the nanny was saying to her. "Don't let him fool you or he'll be as bad as Jack when he gets older. Promise?"

"Sure thing." She bent to ruffle his hair. "He sure does look like Jack, though. It'll be tough."

"Tough," Joey agreed.

Susan laughed before setting out to fix the on thing that she was sure of in all of the world.

**Okay, so this is the "repair" chapter. It was shocking (even to me) that someone would tell Jack no, so I tried to fix it with this. Hope it explains a lot as to why that happened. Honestly, in my defense, I didn't know that last interaction was going to happen. I thought she was going to leap into his arms and smother him with kisses. Boy, was I wrong. Four songs that played while I typed this up? 'Go Home' by Barenaked Ladies, 'Within You' from Labyrinth Soundtrack (thought of Gareth – lolz), The Theme from Quantum Leap (Go Sam Beckett!), and 'Crucify by Tori Amos. Interesting mix, no?**


	41. In Which Jack Gets News

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"So what was it?" Jack looked at Tosh for the answer.

"An odd bit of technology. Not dangerous at all." Tosh read her notes for anything remarkable.

"Go on, Tosh. Tell them how it turned water to wine." Owen tried to sound helpful.

"Now, Owen," Jack thought they may have been pulling his leg.

"No, he's right, Jack. It did. We were trying all sorts of things and figured pointing it at water was harmless enough. We laughed about it for a good ling time. Do you want a demonstration?"

Gwen slid her glass forward at the same time as Ianto. After a shared laugh, Toshiko pointed the device at the offered glasses. The clear liquid quickly turned dark red.

"Did you try drinking it?" Gwen asked, picking up the glass and examining it closely.

"Maybe a bit too much," Tosh blushed, putting her head down.

"It was good," Owen admitted.

"Jack, can we use this for the wedding?" Gwen seized on the idea after taking a tentative sip. "We'd save a small fortune on the open bar!"

For the first time that day, Jack smiled. "Only if we can use it for office parties as well."

"Maybe we should bottle a Torchwood Vintage Blend," Ianto deadpanned, trying not to laugh at the thought of a Weevil on the label.

"But taste it!" Gwen passed hers to the head of the table.

Jack had just raised it to his lips when something began to beep on Tosh's computer. He moved to put the glass aside, but she stopped him.

"No, go ahead – I'll get it," Tosh stood and went to find out what the noise was about.

"This_ is _ good – so would bottling it be ethical?" Jack sounded as if he were really considering it.

"If you want, I can look into marketing for you," Ianto rolled another mouthful around, thinking that it would indeed save a fortune on open bar.

Jack nodded in affirmation. If even just for the Torchwood employees, this would be a great idea. Tosh returned to the conference room in a rush.

"Jack – that was Andy. He said he needs you to give him a call as soon as you can."

"Andy? Like Gwen's former co-worker?" Jack shot a look at Ianto that made the younger man nod. He would call him later and ask if he would interested in joining up. "Did he say what it was?" It was odd in the first place that he had called for Jack and not Gwen as he usually did, there had to be a real problem.

"No, just to call him." She looked around the table nervously.

"Right," he stood. "I'll be in my office." He moved to the door, where he turned and stood. "Let's keep an eye on the city – it's been far too quiet lately. Even the Weevils have calmed down."

Once he had disappeared into his office, Gwen turned to Tosh. "Did he really say?"

She nodded demurely, gathering files from the table to take back to her desk. "They found an amnesia victim wandering in the Plass. Thought Jack should be the first to know."

"Why?" Ianto asked as he cleared the mugs.

"Because it's Susan."

**She's a bit jeopardy friendly, huh? Just be glad it wasn't one of the kids – the first draft had Lulu finding it. But we knew someone would or I wouldn't have even mentioned it. They need to learn to be more careful with Retcon! Songs heard while typing? 'Kentucky Rain' by Elvis, 'About You Now' by the Sugarbabes and 'Your Song' as sung by the multi-talented John Barrowman! (Not sure what this song update means – other than I have an odd mix of music on the lappy...)**


	42. In Which More is Revealed

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. I **_**may**_** be the mascot for Torchwood Four, however. The verdict is still out on that one...**_

"You can't be," The Doctor asserted. "Your kind don't travel from their home world."

"Well, duh, I did. Then again, I needed something." He was sure that her features were trying to change.

"I don't understand – I can't help you. You would only regenerate if you took my life force. And that wouldn't last you very long..." He was still frowning.

"It's not _you_ we want. It's your immortal friend." She smiled at him – from a distance, they appeared to be having a normal conversation.

"Jack? But why...oh no, you could live forever!" Suddenly, all of the future events he was trying to fix made sense. "It was _your _kind that invaded the Boeshane Peninsula?"

"Sure was. And the beauty of it was that we used a different form. We were in our larval form them. They spent _years_ running from a race that was not even in its correct, adult state." She laughed, a wrong, bubbling noise that sounded more like someone choking.

"You're monsters!" He was horrified. These creatures were after Jack in the worst way and for the worst reasons. And he was the one who had to stop them. He had to get to Taryn, who was now nowhere to be found, while keeping an eye on Marie. The Doctor thought and thought frantically, pushing his hands thorough his hair. He spotted Leila and inspiration hit him. "Leila!" he called to her.

The girl came over, a smile on her face. "Yes?"

"I wonder if you could help me?" He looked up at her, trying his best not to do 'desperate puppy dog' eyes.

Marie had gone back to reading her book, acting as if she were ignoring him, but was fully aware of what was going on.

"Maybe – depends on what it is." She crossed her arms on her chest and looked down at him. It reminded him of someone, but he wasn't quite sure who it was.

"Can you sit here with Marie while I go and get my sister?" Her stance was bugging him, pushing at the edge of his memory.

"Sure." She moved her arms to her sides, letting them rest on her hips. It didn't help the thought that he had seen her somewhere before.

He smiled at her, a warm 'thank you' smile that made his face light up. There was still something so familiar about her to him, and it made him chuckle a little to compare her to the other Leela he knew. "Thanks – I owe you."

"No you don't." She leaned against the wall and slid down to sit beside him. "We have a common interest."

"What do you mean?" Now he was really confused.

She placed her hand on his arm. "Doctor, I know why you're here. _I_ sent the beacon." She half-smiled at him and, again, he struggled to think who she reminded him of. "Cobbly is very important to us too. Without the advances he made in science, an entire race would have been wiped out. More importantly, my grandmother Boemina would never have been born." She winked at him and he knew who it was that she reminded him of. "And let me go ahead and thank you for giving me such a great name, Honorary Uncle..."

It was his turn to be speechless, something that didn't happen too often. "That makes you..."

"One of The Children of Boe; Boekind. Thanks to Cobbly Duncan, we were given the chance to evolve. And, except for grand-dad, none of us turned out to be heads in a jar – though it was touch-and-go with my brother for a while there." She laughed a little at her own joke.

"How did you find me?" He covered her hand with his and found it quite warm.

"Uncle, we're everywhere you are. We are human in appearance – thanks to the wonders of DNA – and can blend easily. I, myself, am a bit like...a Time Agent. Grand-dad and dad worked on it – got it going so that our family could help the universe a bit better. Had a bit of help from Torchwood and one of my ancestors that also worked there – her name was Andrea - not that that name will mean that much to you right now, but who knows?" He was watching her talk and putting together things that hadn't seemed to go together in the first place.

"Well, that explains how Boe was able to find me easily. Why didn't he ever say?" He looked over at Marie, to check she was still there, finding her looking too intently at the book she was holding.

Leila laughed. "You wouldn't have believed him. Besides, it's more fun this way. Now, go. You need to find your 'sister'."

"She isn't my sister," he corrected, tucking his legs under him as a precursor to standing.

"I know. Thought that was what you were calling your companions this year. Who am I to judge?" She arched her eyebrow.

"Stop that," he found himself muttering before he could stop. "So, you think you can handle her?" He inclined his head at the alien.

"Find Taryn. I may look clumsy, but I _am _related to Jack Harkness..." She took out what looked like a modified version of the sonic screwdriver. "Go."

"Where did you...?" He went to ask her, but it was clear that she wasn't going to tell him. He walked away, starting his search at the last place he had seen Taryn. "Have you seen my sister?"

"She was with Jim." A man sitting at the table told him.

"Right. And they went?" He started out the door and turned.

"On a tour...oh cripes! Susan!" She was suddenly there, all blonde hair and giggles.

"Yeah?" Her ponytails bobbed as she bounced in place.

"Can you show him where Jim took his sister?" He didn't look up from the comic book he was reading.

"Sure thing – c'mon, Mr. Smith, was it?" She motioned for him to follow her.

"John," he corrected her. "It's John."

"Fine then, _John_, let's go find your sister." She smiled at him and it suddenly hit him how much this girl beside him affected the universe. She had no idea that in about twenty years she would meet an immortal – an immortal that he considered to be one of his best friends in the whole of time. Or that one of that man's descendants was in that room right now and her best friend. It really put things into perspective for him. He _had_ to find Taryn and get this fixed. Yesterday, if possible.

**Did I redeem myself yet? This was really a fun one to write. I invented an alien and everything. I made a family tree for Boekind. I made my best friend from high school (whose name really _is_ Leila – that's indeed a giggle – we were both Doctor's girls! HA!) a descendant of Captain Jack. Best part is that we'll find out more about these aliens in the next Doctor/Taryn chapter. Promise. Please encourage or discourage this behavior...**


	43. In Which Erin is Concerned

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

When Erin opened the door to the tourist office, Ianto was putting out new brochures.

"You ready?" she asked him, picking up one of the ones on the sites of Cardiff to send to her mother.

"Yeah, we'll just lock up for a bit." Ianto came from behind her to give her a kiss.

"Where's Jack?" She put her arms around his neck.

"Wait a minute," he teased. "I'm kissing you and you're asking about Jack."

"Jealous?" she smirked at him.

He pulled her close to him. Arms around her waist. "Of you or Jack?"

"Hey!" She kissed him again. "But really, is something wrong?"

"Why?" Ianto tried to cover, but found he couldn't lie to her.

"There was a weird call on my cell. It sounded like Susan, and it came from her phone, but the message was, well – wrong." She rooted around in her bag for the phone. "Here. Listen."

She played the message for him. "Who is this? Can you tell me how you know me? Who am I?" There was a frustrated sigh and then she hung up.

"See?" She looked from her phone to Ianto and it was clear he knew something. "What is it?"

"Erin, don't worry. Jack has it under control, I'm sure."

"Have you heard from him?" Her voice took a frantic tone.

"Not yet, but that means there was nothing wrong." he rubbed her arm to soothe her.

"What happened though?"

"Susan was found wandering the Plass. She had no idea who she was or what she was doing. Jack has been with her since this morning."

"Then they must have gotten to her right after she called me. She was on her way to apologize to Jack for whatever it was that had happened between them. Let's go see her." Erin had decided and Ianto knew that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it.

"If you want to. Let me just phone Jack," he stepped away and used his cell. Jack answered almost immediately.

"Harness," his vice was full of worry.

"Jones," Ianto identified himself, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Hey, Ianto," Jack sighed into the comm.

"What do you know?"

"Well, Owen came and took blood samples. He's running them now. The lab here is having kittens."

"Okay if Erin and I come by?" Erin was looking at him expectantly.

Ianto could all but hear him run his hand through his hair. " Yeah, that might help."

"Do you need anything?"

"A cup of coffee would be grand."

"You got it."

"Thanks, Yan." Jack turned off his comm just as Ianto heard Susan's voice in the background.

"How is she?" Erin asked as soon as Ianto closed his phone.

"Well, Owen did some tests. We should know soon enough what caused it. Let me make Jack some coffee and we can head out," he took her hand.

"Better yet," she suggested, "I have to go and let them know that I'm going to take the rest of the day off. We can pick some up there. Don't look at me like that. Bring a thermos – he'll never know..."

He feigned hurt and shock. "Are you saying that my coffee is no better than coffehouse coffee?"

"Not at all," she bumped into him a bit. "I'm saying Jack's palate is simple."

"As long as that's it, then," he smiled at her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Let me get my jacket," he disappeared behind the beaded curtain.

Switching the 'Open' sign to 'Closed', he put his hand on her back to guide her out.

"Seriously, Mr. Jones, you make me look severely underdressed."

"Do you want my jacket?" He looked over at her out of the corners of his eyes.

"Oh yes, please. It would look so great with this blue apron." She indicated what she was wearing with a sweep of her hand.

"I think it would," Ianto agreed, smiling at her.

"Stop being horrible." Erin pushed on him a bit as they walked toward the bookstore where she worked.

**Fluff. Filler. Call it what you will, but it needed to be here. And poor Susan. Wonder why the Retcon affected her so badly. Wish I had the inside scoop to tell you, but I just don't. They are running the story without me now. Perhaps I should start a petition to get it back? **


	44. In Which Owen Makes a Diagnosis

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"How are you?" Erin came cautiously through the door to see her roommate propped up in her bed, smiling.

"Good, I think." Susan frowned a bit. "I would like it more if I could remember evrything I am supposed to."

"Jack, a word?" Ianto called the man over to him, leaving the women to talk.

"Yeah, Yan?" he kept one eye on Susan as he spoke to him.

"What happened?"

"Best Owen can tell is that it's Retcon. But it's acting oddly." Jack crossed his arms on his chest.

"How do you mean?" Ianto unconsciously mimicked him.

"Well, it didn't just take out the usual two days. It took out a full day and parts of her memory that should have been concrete."

"Like?" His eyebrows knit together.

"Well, her name, for starters. And - she remembers that she has kids, but not their correct ages."

"Does Owen know why?" Jack was right, in all of the archives there had never been an instance of this happening.

"Not the first clue. He's still running tests. Might have to do a brain scan later today." He looked genuinely worried.

"Jack," Ianto placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It will be fine. Did she know who you were?"

He looked at the floor for a moment before lifting his eyes to answer. "That's the odd thing. She did. She clung to me and didn't want to let go. But she remembered something from the future, Yan. Something that hadn't happened yet."

The Welshman arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Ianto, she keeps telling us about things that happen in the future – and I can confirm some of them." His voice dropped to barely audible.

"Jack, that's..."

"Jack! I know what's going on!" Owen burst through the door, ignoring everyone else in the room and going to where Ianto and Jack stood.

"What is it?" He asked the medic, turning to him.

"Well, as you know from the first tests that it was Retcon." Owen recapped for Ianto's benefit.

"Right," he nodded slowly.

"What we didn't know until this point was has Retcon reacts with other drugs." He shook the pages he was holding.

"Susan's on drugs?!" Jack whispered fiercely, gripping Ianto's shoulder for stability.

Owen shook his head with a slight smile. "No, Jack – at least not anything unusual for a woman her age."

"Not following you." He frowned.

Ianto understood Owen and returned the doctor's smile. "Are you kidding me? How did we not know this?"

"You keep the archives, Teaboy. The real question is how did _you_ not know?"

"Hello," Jack interrupted. "Am I missing something?"

The two other men turned to him. Owen loved that he knew something more than Jack.

"Jack, it's simple. It seems that our blend of Retcon doesn't seem to work too well when it combines with certain brands of birth control pills. It seems Susan is in a study group for a new experimental drug trial. Hers, we have found, are _not_ the placebos."

"You're kidding," Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "What now? Is there a way to get her memory back?"

"Well," Owen suggested, "Gwen was strong enough to break through with the slightest of triggers. Seems to me that we should be able to do the same thing for Susan."

"Right – but what about the 'future glimpses' she reported?" Ianto asked, handing the thermos he had been holding to Jack.

"Another reaction of the combination she has going. Should wear off." Owen shrugged. He saw that the doctor that had been assigned to her was back in the room. Crossing to her with his best know-it-all swagger, he spoke. "Listen, we have this under control. Go ahead and get the discharge papres ready, doll."

The doctor shot daggers at him and went to speak before she spotted Jack looking at her. She had been dealing with him for the past few hours and would be glad to be rid of him. "Give me ten minutes." She left the room muttering something derogatory about Torchwood.

"Susan," Owen now turned to the woman in the bed. "How much do you remember?"

"You know," she frowned, turning from Erin to speak to him, "I know who _I_ am not, at least. And I know that – Jack was it? - is _not_ to be trusted..." She winked at him.

Owen smiled back at her. "Sounds fine to me. Now, what were you saying about seeing the future?"

She shrugged him off, feeling silly she had even said anything at all. "It's nothing. I was just talking."

Jack opened the thermos and poured himself a cup. "Thanks, Ianto, I need this." He took a big draw and, looking over the small metal cup that served as the lid, frowned a bit. "But this is not your coffee, is it?"

"Told you!" Ianto called out to Erin.

"Amazing," she muttered, joining them. "You can tell that's not Ianto's?"

"It's not – but it's almost as good. Did _you_ make it?" Jack felt proud that he had figured them out.

"Yeah – well, in a way." Erin admitted, letting Ianto take her hand.

"Don't get me wrong. It's good, just not what I am used to." He swallowed another mouthful. "However, I do have to say that between the two of you, you should open a shop. You'd make a fortune!"

They laughed together as the doctor returned and Owen and Jack went to talk with her and Susan, leaving Ianto and Erin by themselves.

"I told you," Ianto arched his eyebrow at her. "He just knows."

"Impressive – really." She smiled back at him. "But, Ianto, I have to ask you – who is that doctor running the tests on Susan?"

"That's Owen – he's...a close personal friend." He tried to reach for the right way to explain without giving away too much.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" She looked into his eyes, knowing he'd never be able to lie to her.

"Erin, it's...I..." he sighed, not knowing what to say next. "Wait, I have a question for you."

"What?" She frowned at his attempt to change the subject.

"Owen said that Susan was involved in a study – is that the one that you guys signed up for?" He remembered back to when she had told him that all of the woman had signed up for a study to make a little extra money – but never said what it was for.

"Yeah, why?" Erin looked at him confused.

Ianto remembered that he had given Erin Retcon, but she had only lost the few hours that followed dinner. "Do you keep having flashes of odd Deja Vu?"

"Nothing like that – why? Is there something wrong?" Worry tinted her voice.

"No, no, nothing like that." His voice became soothing, realizing he was scaring her. "Just trying to figure out if her symptoms were common."

"How could that be common?"

"It isn't."

They looked at one another. It was clear that each of them was keeping something from the other, but neither was willing to give in.

Erin made up her mind to find out the truth about Ianto. There was something pushing on the back of her mind, trying to get out whenever she hugged him and smelled that distinctive musty smell that didn't come from the tourist office. She had been there enough and never caught a whiff of it. She made a mental note to ask Susan once all of this had been fixed. She would know what was going on.

Ianto stood, looking at Erin, knowing that she was trying to figure him out as much as he was her. He now knew something about her that she didn't. The study that she was involved in had been giving her the placebo dose – otherwise, that Retcon would have knocked her out the same way – Owen had told them that much. He thought about telling her, but then kept quiet. If he did tell her, she'd want to know how he knew. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He was going to have to tell her about Torchwood, he just didn't know how he was going to do it.

**Whoa. Now a new dimension. Interesting. Must be because my head is all full of John Barrowman and the "Just So" songs. Maybe all the coffee I consume daily is catching up to me. Who knows for sure? **


	45. In Which Taryn Speaks Her Mind

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three.**_

"Taryn!" The Doctor saw her talking to someone in the corner, a young man about as tall as her with dark hair. He was wearing a discarded army jacket with a biohazard sticker on the back. They were laughing, but Taryn looked quite uncomfortable. She looked up when she heard her name called, glad for the distraction.

"John!" She called back, noticing that he had Susan in tow. "I was just talking to _Keith_ here...he runs a Dungeons and Dragons game on Saturdays and needs players."

"Really?" Susan stepped in. "I could do that."

Keith turned to her. "Yeah, you wanna roll up a character right now?"

She shrugged, smiling. "Sure."

"Then, I'll see you later maybe, Taryn?" He looked back at the taller woman.

"Yeah, maybe." She was trying to hold the smile on her face, but wanted nothing more than to grab him by the hair and bounce his face off the brick wall for what he had done to her friend. The thought made he smile a bit more and he thought it was directed at him.

They left the room and Taryn turned to the Timelord. "What's wrong?"

He set his jaw and looked at her with his best serious face. "I know what is going on. Someone called us here. Someone who is a direct descendant of Boe. And the very entity who is causing it is here as well."

"Where? Who?" She looked around.

"Listen, she's in there right now with Leila. We need to get her out of there and to the judgement planet of Marzon. She'll stand a fair trial there."

"Okay, good plan, but are there others out to do the same thing?" She challenged the alien in front of her.

"The whole race. Fortunately, once we turn her in, her people will be put under planetary arrest until the trial." He explained it the best he could.

"Sounds like we're done here then – I just introduced Susan to Keith. We can leave." She started for the door, but felt his hand on her shoulder.

"You what?" His eyes went a bit wild.

"I introduced Susan and Keith – you said I had to!" Suddenly, her chest felt a bit tight.

He made a panicked face for a moment. "I forgot to tell you that you didn't need to."

"You what?! Doctor! You just made me ruin my best friend's life!" Her heart broke even as she realized it.

"Well, if it's any comfort, she would have met him in two days time." He started for the door this time, but was stopped by Taryn.

"Dammit! How can you just play with people's lives like this?" Her eyes were intense, almost scaring the Timelord. "Don't you know what she's going to go through, or do you even care?!"

"Taryn, I..." he opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say to make it better – not knowing if there was anything.

"Don't. Let's just finish up here and you can take me back home. I don't want anything else to do with this – or you. You think you're a hero, but you aren't." Her hands opened and closed, her jaw clenching. "You are no better that the monsters you claim you are chasing!" She spun on her heels and stomped out.

The Doctor stood there for a moment, knowing she was right and wondering what he could do to change it. He knew that Susan was a fixed point due to the fact that she was so closely connected to the Face of Boe. Everything that happened to her in her life had to happen in order to make her who she was. He walked out of the door to go and get Marie to take her back to the TARDIS.

When he got to the room, he found Taryn standing over the alien, still clenching and unclenching her fists. By now, she was all but panting. As he neared, he heard her began to snarl at the girl. "You have ruined someone that I care about. You are going to quietly get up now and come with me."

Marie smiled up at her cruelly. "I don't think so. You'll need an army."

"I'll help." Leila offered, standing to join Taryn. "I'll be part of your army."

The Doctor hung back, watching. They were doing a good job at intimidating her without causing a scene. He'd step in if he had to.

Marie just laughed. "There will be more. You can't stop us. We know about this mission from birth. If not me, one of my many brothers and sisters will step in."

"I wouldn't count on that." Leila was the one to speak now. "I think you should get up and come with us." She produced the object The Doctor had thought to be a sonic screwdriver and pointed it at her.

He saw the alien's features ripple for sure that time. Her defenses were getting weaker and he would need to find a way to put her in suspension to guarantee that she would get a trial. He out his hand in his pocket for his own screwdriver, but found he wouldn't need it.

"I won't." She set her chin in defiance.

"Fine." Leila shrugged and pointed the metal tube at her. Marie smiled for a moment and slumped, quite limp, against the wall. "Have it your way."

"What did you just do to her?" Taryn looked at the tall girl with confusion.

"Simple – put her 'on hold'. She asked for it." Her tone was matter-of-fact. She returned the device to her pocket and looked simply over at The Doctor. "You can come over here now and help us – you don't have to hide."

Taryn stifled a giggle as she looked over to see his face. He was visibly shocked, mouth hung open in surprise. He thought for a moment how this other girl was living up the name he had given her and, for a brief moment, felt the loss of a past regeneration's companion in this body – some thing that hadn't happened before.

"Well?" Leila snapped him out of his thoughts. "Don't just stand there, you great big lump!"

He smiled at them and went to help the threat to her feet and get her out to the TARDIS.

**Okay, so Taryn can be intense and we find that Jack's own – even if they are from the Boe aspect – are good at what they do. Great genes, I suppose. Now that the threat has been eliminated, it only makes me think that there should have been something they could have done to keep him from becoming a head in a jar. In fact, I asked The Doctor and he told me no. Jack is one of those fixed points. Oh well, Jack, love, I tried...**


	46. In Which Ianto is Concerned

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. **_

After dropping Susan off at her house, Jack drove back to the Hub in silence. He toyed with his bottom lip as he thought about what had happened. He couldn't understand where she had gotten the Retcon in the first place. And then he remembered the night before. He patted his coat pocket and found that the envelope wasn't there.

"Shit," he muttered, knowing the answer to his question. He parked the Range Rover and went in via the Tourist Office.

"Jack," Owen rushed him the second the cog door rolled back. "I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, Ianto," Jack was distracted as he waved the man off. "Come up to my office in a bit, I need to talk to Owen first."

"Sure." Ianto turned away from him as he headed to the medical bay.

"Owen!" Jack called, taking the stairs two at a time.

The man looked up from the slide he was scrutinizing, "Jack – I was hoping you'd show up."

"You found something then?" He joined his side.

"Yeah, well, I think that all you need to do is let this work out of her system. She's going to be fine." He shrugged him off.

"Then what is it?" Jack was visibly confused.

"I wanted to talk to you about something I _did _find." He walked away from the table and sat on a rolling stool, motioning for Jack to join him.

"What's that?" Jack didn't know how to prepare himself; Owen was being deliberately vague.

"Well, there are some other compounds that I found in her blood that baffle me. I suspect that if I checked Ianto's blood now, they would be in there as well."

Jack knit his eyebrows at the man. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means, Jack ,that you are infecting certain people with incredible antibodies. I would wager that is the reason that our Teaboy no longer gets sick."

"I'm still not sure I understand."

"Look, Harkness, I know you can't be _that_ thick. _Whatever_ it is that you have in you that keeps you from dying is doing this – you are giving some kind of superhuman immunity to them."

"Oh – do you think that it could be the nanogenes?" Jack asked the man as if it was a completely normal question to ask.

"What nanogenes?" Owen was more than a little peeved that he hadn't heard about this yet.

"The nanogenes that the Time Agency implanted. Duh!" Jack finished that thought with one that maybe he shouldn't listen to the current slang that Lulu was using.

Owen rolled his eyes and slapped himself on the forehead. "Of course. What was I thinking? So, you knew about these?"

"I didn't know they were contagious, if that's what you're asking." He defended.

Owen shook his head. "Nevermind. It's not a bad thing – just thought you would like to know that you'd done it. Actually, I'd be interested to know if Erin has them now as well."

"Are we done here?" Jack fidgeted on his seat.

"Yes, Jack, we're done." Owen sighed – he wanted to talk to Jack and tell him what was going on with him and Tosh, but the man was determined to push him away.

Jack stood, thinking about Susan. Sure, she'd be fine, but what about until then? Would she remember what they had talked about two nights ago, or would he have to try all over again? Or, more importantly, would he want to still?

Ianto saw the man heading to his office and poured him a cup of coffee to meet him shortly after he got settled in.

"What's going on, Yan?" Jack could sense that the man had something important to talk about, thinking that Ianto was going to try to quit again.

"Jack, you know how Susan got a dose of Retcon and she lost more than she should have?" He sat in the chair opposite his boss.

"Yeah – what about it?" Jack was interested now – if anyone had anything new to add to the information they had, it would be Ianto.

"Well, I went looking in the archives to see if that had happened before, and nothing. This is completely new – which is good, considering the amount of women we have given it without even the first thought."

"But Owen said it had to do with birth control that they are just doing trials for. He'll use that information to synthesize some new formula that we can use on woman exclusively. No big deal."

"But Erin is undergoing that study too."

"Right – but she doesn't need to be Retconned, so you should be fine until that formula is changed." Jack watched Ianto's eyes flicker to the floor for a brief moment. He inclined his head in question to the man.

"Uh, Jack..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I _did_ give her Retcon."

He sat on the edge of his seat. "When?"

"The night I..." he stopped himself from giving the news away before Erin could be there with him. "A few nights ago. We went out to dinner and I brought her back here."

"Ianto." Jack warned, knowing that it was too late for that. "What happened after that?"

"I retconned her."

"You mentioned that." His voice was flat. "But there is something else, isn't there?"

He looked at the ground, afraid to meet Jack's eyes. "Jack, Erin is part of that study." He said it slower that time, hoping that Jack would understand.

"Yes? And?" Jack was starting to get flustered at him.

"Jack, when I gave Erin Retcon, _nothing happened_ – she only lost a few hours – even far less than I expected her to." There was genuine concern laced in his voice.

"Ianto..." He suddenly understood.

"When she saw me that next day, she apologized for falling asleep and asked if we could have the tour I promised her. There was only the space of an hour and a half lost."

"Maybe that's how the Retcon reacted with her dose, Yan." He was trying to soothe his friend.

"Yeah, and maybe she's getting the placebo. I'm having Tosh check now to see if she can get into the study's records."

"Good idea, let me know what you find out."

"I plan to." Ianto stood and walked out the door, leaving Jack to his own thoughts.

**Okay, so I can feel this story starting to wind down. But have no fear, I am already thinking about the new one that will be going on. It's going to follow where this one leaves off. Oh! I know what I was going to say here – I wanna know what ya'll think is going on. Who knows – it might change something around to get a new perspective...**


	47. In Which There Are Announcements

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Don't own, highly doubt I ever will – the characters. Except the ones based on the peeps I know. It should be clear who those are – but, just in case, you'll need to know that I **_**don't**_** work for Torchwood. At least not Torchwood Three. This is the last chapter if this story...**_

Sunday rolled around and Susan's memory had almost returned to normal. However, she was still having flashes into the future that concerned both her and Jack.

"Don't go into work tonight, Jack," she begged him. "I feel like something is going to happen."

"Don't be silly," he shrugged his coat on, trying to push the thought that she may be right out of his mind. "It's only to go and check on a few things – I'll be right back." He drew her as close as he could while she was washing dishes and kissed her on the cheek.

"Jack, really," she turned from the sink, her hands dripping. "Please – do you _have_ to go in?"

He half expected her to throw herself at his feet. "I'll be _fine_."

"Jack..."

"Susan!" He snapped at her more than he meant to.

"Just go then," she turned back to the sink, her mood now heavy and sullen. She was more than a little angry that he couldn't just give into her this one time. Over the past few days, her flashes had more than proven themselves to be true. Of course, those were silly little predictions like knowing he was going to burn the bacon yesterday, but still – this one was big.

"I'll be back, honest." Jack made a promise to her back.

Walking out the door, Jack ran into Ianto, who was just showing up for dinner. "Where are you going?" The younger man asked.

Jack stopped, turned to him. "The Hub – I need to check on Janet and Myfanwy."

Ianto called his bluff. "No you don't. That lie might work on Susan, but not me. I fed them this morning. What's really going on?"

Jack shifted his weight to both feet and smirked. "Yan, I'm going to try again."

"Not sure I'm following you."

"Yan, the night before Susan lost her memory, I asked her to marry me – well, I was going to ask her, but she practically kicked me out. Tonight I am going to fix that."

"Interesting," Ianto remarked. "But that still doesn't explain why you are going back to the Hub."

"I'm going back to the Hub because I forgot the ring – what did you think, I was going after Retcon?"

Jack tried to laugh the remark off.

Ianto chuckled a bit himself. "You know, the girls invited Tosh, Owen, Gwen, and Rhys over."

Jack smiled. He had remembered, which is what made this the perfect time to do this. "Yan, I won't be gone too long, I promise. I wouldn't want to miss that."

"I'm holding you to that, Harkness," Ianto went to the door.

"Seriously. An hour tops." It shouldn't even take him that long.

"Hurry back – too many girls in there for me." He knocked on the door as Jack walked away, swearing he could hear the older man giggling.

"You're here!" Erin yanked the door open and pulled her boyfriend inside.

Ianto shook his head for a moment. "Why wouldn't I be?" She was already tugging at his suit jacket.

"Did you come from work?" She asked, looking at what he was wearing. "Or are you trying to show me up in my own home?"

"Would you rather I wear jeans?" Ianto pulled her in for a hug. "I can go change – I think I left a pair here."

"Yes – you need to – you feel too formal." She was backing his towards the stairs.

"I can't wait to meet everyone!" Nicole came into the room, carrying one wiggling Joey. "I hear Jack talk about them, but now I can put a face to the name."

"I know how you feel," Susan agreed, handing the nanny a stack of plates. "We're going to be packed in tighter than sardines at the table, but it should be fun. Which reminds me, we need to put the leaf in." She went down the hall to the closet to get it.

"Do you need some help, Nikki?" Lulu asked, leaning against the counter. "I could get the silverware."

"That would be grand," Nicole agreed. "There's going to be twelve sitting at the table – and your little brother."

"Wow. I don't think we've _ever_ had that many people around the table," Lulu said, rummaging through the drawer for what she'd need.

"Got it!" Susan returned to the kitchen with the extra part of the table as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Erin bounded back up the stairs. She threw the door open to find the first of their guests, Gwen Cooper and her fiancée Rhys Williams.

"We're here – hope we aren't too early," Gwen said, handing her coat to Erin.

"No, no," Susan fluttered out of the kitchen to greet them. "You can help – I still have to mash the potatoes."

Gwen smiled warmly back at the woman. "I can do that."

"Oh, this must be Rhys," Susan gave him a hug before he could react differently. "You can turn on the television if you want."

"Thanks," he sat on the couch and flipped it on, changing the channel to find sports. When he had at last found something, he settled back, only to have Joey crawl into his lap. "Hey there, little guy," he greeted. "I haven't seen you in a while. You been good?"

"Good," Joey agreed, poking at him with a finger.

Rhys laughed and settled back with the toddler, explaining the finer points of the sport they were watching to him.

"I'm sorry about that." Susan told Gwen, seeing her watching the scene on the couch.

The Welshwoman tore her eyes from them. "No, no, really. Rhys loves the attention – it's someone who will listen to his endless explanations of what is going on. It's good for him."

"Joey seems to like him," Susan remarked.

"Jack brought him by the other day. Ever since then, Rhys has been wanting him to come by again." Gwen followed her into the kitchen to help.

"Yeah, Joey can be quite the charmer." She handed the pot of potatoes to Gwen.

"Reminds me of someone else we both know." It was an under-breath remark that sent Susan into peals of laughter. She was joined by Gwen.

"You two are having too much fun in here," Erin said, coming in to get the goblets they would be drinking out of.

"I'm Gwen." She introduced herself, offering a hand.

"I remember you from the day you came into the tourist office with your friend Tosh." She shook her hand warmly.

"That's right. Tosh works there now." Gwen thought she'd cover tracks just in case Jack had not thought to.

"Oh good, she was nice." Erin went back to what she had been doing.

There was another knock at the door and Ianto, who was walking by, went to answer. On the other side were Tosh and Owen, looking as though they had been caught up to something. "Come on in, he greeted, ushering them into the living room."

Rhys waved from the sofa and Owen went to join him. He looked briefly at Joey, who smiled up at the man as if he remembered him. Owen ruffled his hair before settling back on the couch.

"Anything I can help with?" Tosh called into the kitchen as she walked that direction.

Susan poked her head around the corner. "I think we have it under control. If you want, you can start pouring water."

"Okay." She smiled at Gwen, who was now mashing potatoes and got a smile back.

"Lu!" Susan called to the dark-haired girl who was placing silverware at each seat. "Can you get the pitcher for Tosh?"

"Yeah – no prob, mama," she answered in a uniquely southern accent.

"Okay, so we got the table put longer, and the plates and silverware are placed." Nicole counted on her fingers. "Tosh – that's right? - is filling the water glasses. Anything else?"

"We'll start putting the food on," Erin volunteered herself and Ianto.

"Oh, better," Susan put in. "Ianto, can you call Jack? Let him know we're just about ready to eat and he needs to come back now."

"Sure," Ianto shrugged at Erin and went into the living room where Owen and Rhys were now teaching Joey the words he should say if he didn't agree with the verdict of the game – whether they knew that or not. He dialed Jack's cell and waited. Before long, there was an answer.

"Yes?" He sounded peeved.

"Jack, Susan says we are ready to eat – everyone is here already." Ianto informed him.

"Oh, right, sorry about that – tell her I'm on my way now." His tone changed. "I was busy trying to convince Myfanwy that she didn't need anything else. She's been buzzing around here for the past few minutes."

"Oh, about that - I think Owen has been sneaking her chocolate. She gets that way if she has had too much. Just ignore her." Ianto laughed at the mental image of the pterodactyl trying to convince Jack to play with it.

"Okay, noted. I'll be there in a bit," he snapped the phone shut.

"He's on his way," Ianto announced to the kitchen before having a seat in the armchair in the living room with the other males in the house.

"Thank you!" Came Susan's voice.

The woman fitted about and talked until they heard the front door open and Jack's voice call out loudly, "Did you miss me?"

Joey jumped down from Rhys' lap to run up to the man. Jack bent to pick him up, smiling at the amount of people in the room.

"Oh, good, now we can eat!" Susan pretended to be angry as she gave him a hug and took his coat.

"I told you I was only going to be gone for a bit. Everyone here?" He walked over to where the other men were. "How's it going?" He nodded to them as a group.

"Starving," Owen answered truthfully. "We were waiting for you."

"Then come on," Jack called, striding to the table.

Once the seating was figured out, and Joey tucked into his high chair, Susan finished putting the food on the table. Jack looked around and found himself oddly pleased that he was surrounded by the people he considered himself closest to. There were Gwen and Rhys, who were flirting with one another over the potatoes that Gwen had helped make. Ianto and Erin were shamelessly making eyes at one another. He was sure that he saw Tosh slip a look Owen's way, but he couldn't be sure. Nicole, who was sitting between Ianto and Lulu, looked to be having a grand time. He made up his mind to tell Susan that her decision to ask Nicole to become a live-in nanny was a good one. Lulu was on her best behavior, another thing that Jack mentally made a note of to commend her on. The only person missing in this dynamic was Taryn. He looked to where she usually sat and found that Susan was looking there as well. He reached for the hand she had sitting on the table and gave it a squeeze. She smiled back at him the best she could, but he knew that she missed her friend.

When everyone was just about stuffed and no one had started any food fights – much to his relief – Susan and Erin and Lulu go to clear the table. Tosh and Nicole immediately jumped up to help and, in a short while, they had cleaned up the mess and gotten the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Is anyone ready for dessert?" Erin asked, leaning on the table. "Or coffee?"

There was general agreement and a steady stream of cake came from the kitchen.

"What's the occasion?" Owen asked, taking a forkful of the confection.

"Good friends," Lulu answered, setting a piece in front of Jack.

Once everyone had a plate in front of them with a coffee mug at the edge, the chatter turned light.

"So," Ianto started. "I have to tell you all something."

"What is it?" Susan asked, mid-bite.

"We're engaged!" Erin squealed, making Susan drop her fork and join the girl in a dance around the table.

Jack watched the scene with a grin. It was going to be quite the night. He went to talk when Tosh cleared her throat.

"So are we," she indicated herself and Owen shyly, wondering what the reaction would be.

There was silence for a moment before the cloud of squeal moved her way and enveloped her for another lap around the table.

Jack was sure that he hadn't seen that coming. Tosh and Owen, he figured, would never get around to figuring it out – he was pleased that they had. Again, he went to talk, but, this time, was trumped by Gwen.

"I guess since we're all telling secrets that you guys should be the first to know," she cast a quick glance at Rhys, who nodded slightly. "We're going to have a baby!"

This time, the cloud swept around to the other side of the table and took in Gwen. Rhys flinched in the hopes that he would not be knocked from his chair. He sighed, catching Owen's eyes in agreement when he realized he would not.

The stakes were now considerably higher and Jack mental recapped what had gone on thus far – Erin and Ianto were engaged, as were Tosh and Owen. Gwen and Rhys were expecting and he still needed to ask Susan to marry him. All of this was going to be a tough act to follow. One more time, he drew in a deep breath, only to hear Susan's voice.

"Oh, well, as long as we are sharing the love, tonight – Nikki, Jack and I have been talking and want to know if you want to become a live-in nanny. You're so good with Joey and it would make your commute much easier." Susan smiled at her.

"You bet!" Nicole did not hesitate in her answer. Too keep with continuity, they jumped and squealed.

Thinking that this was well and truly all that could be said before Jack could finally ask Susan what he needed to, he looked at Tallulah and waited for her to speak.

"I got nothin'," she laughed, tucking her hands together on the table.

"Okay then, now," Jack adopted his 'serious captain' face and addressed the table, whose participants were now settling back down, albeit with huge smile on their faces. "To this point we have two engagements, one baby, and a new living arrangement. Anything else? An 'A' on a quiz, Lulu?"

"There was _that_," she said, but noticed the women were starting to stand,"but we can talk about that later..."

Jack grinned. She was a smart girl. He continued, holding the attention of the table once again. "Now, the real reason I wanted all of you here..."

His voice was drowned out by a familiar sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He stood, only to be met with the front door being flung open.

"Oh My God!" The female voice rang out across the room and invaded every square inch of the dwelling. "I am soooo glad to be back here!"

Susan's head snapped up and Joey began to clap his hands excitedly. Lulu got up and ran to where the voice originated.

"TAYRN!" The girl yelled, grabbing her around the waist and almost knocking her into The Doctor. "You came back!"

"How could I stay away from you and that little brother of yours?" She winked, returning the hug.

"Come on, Jack was about to tell us something," She dragged the woman behind her, ignoring the man standing in the doorway.

"Jack?" he sputtered, "He's here?"

Lulu rolled her eyes. "He _lives_ here."

"Come on, then, _Doctor_, " Taryn took his hand.

Jack wasn't sure he was seeing what he thought he was. He knew that it was The Doctor who had taken Taryn, but he hadn't expected to see them together. He had assumed that she would just be dropped off and make her way back here.

"Doc!" he stood to hug the man and got a hug in return. "What brings you here?"

"You – you are a fixed point, Jack Harkness. And though I once said you were an impossible thing, I think you are the most possible thing there is in the universe." There was a certain tone to his voice that Jack hadn't heard before.

"So you know then?" He was blocking out everyone else in the room, even though they could hear every word.

The Doctor laughed. "I know more than even you do, my friend. But I wasn't going to miss this for the whole of eternity. I wanted to say that I was here."

There were confused faces around the table as Jack went to Susan's side and dropped to one knee. "Okay, let's get this right."

Susan's hands went in shock to her mouth. It was clear to Jack that she had not remembered telling him no a few days ago. He had that in his favor.

"Susan, marry me." He slipped the ring on her finger. It was simple, but it served the purpose well enough.

"Yes, of course, Jack!" The rest of whatever she might have been saying was blotted out by the earlier blur, this time added to by both Tallulah and Taryn. The men, Joey included, looked at one another in utter confusion.

Once that was done, and everyone had found their way back to their seats, Taryn and the Doctor scooted into the seating. Taryn had gotten them cake and there was a general din that arose as conversation went from topic to topic.

Finally, talk wound down and enough coffee was consumed to keep all of Cardiff awake for weeks. Tallulah had her head down on the table and Susan idly rubbed her daughter's back. Joey had giving up about an hour before, only to be cuddled into Gwen's lap, much to her happiness – and his. Ianto and Erin were still giving each other puppy dog eyes and Jack observed the easy way that Owen and Tosh interacted – the occasional brush of hands, the way he had pushed her hair from her face when they were talking – it was all too perfect for them. He looked over at The Doctor to see him talking excitedly still to those who would listen – this being Taryn and Susan, with Taryn doing more disbelieving than listening. Susan caught his eye and winked, giving him a small smile as she did so. He returned it in kind.

"Well, I hate to break this up, but, I have two very sleepy babies," Susan said.

"Don't forget to count Joey," Gwen teased, smiling in her charming way.

Jack acted as if her were hurt by that, but found it only made him laugh.

"I'll take him," Susan stood to do it, but was waved away by the woman.

"Going to need to practice," she smiled at Rhys.

"His room is just down the hall to the left. And thanks." She tugged on Lulu's arm to get her moving.

Once she had the older child moving and Gwen and Rhys had disappeared down the hall, she turned to the others. "I'll be right back."

"We should get going," Tosh patted Owen's arm. "Early morning tomorrow and all – and the boss knows where we are..." She smiled over at Jack as she stood.

"And we're heading over to Ianto's," Erin told them, joining Tosh in standing.

"Wait, Susan," Taryn called before she could walk away. "I just want to say that I am so sorry for anything you went through with Keith."

Susan frowned. "It wasn't your fault."

"But it _was_." She argued with her roommate.

Susan smiled at her friend, locking eyes. "But it _wasn't_." It was clear to Taryn that she was being forgiven. "You weren't there."

With that one sentence, Taryn made up her mind. "Susan, I want to thank you for letting me live here."

"What do you mean?" She was confused.

"Let me take Lu to bed," Jack offered, taking the girl's shoulders to guide her so that Taryn and Susan could talk. He motioned for The Doctor to follow him.

"Sue, The Doctor asked if I wanted to go with him." She found it hard to say this.

"And?" She couldn't tell what her friend intended.

"And I think I'm going to do it. I mean, you have Jack and Erin has Ianto. What's there for me?" Her voice was a bit sad. "Besides, this way, I'll have fantastic material!"

"If it's what you want..." She tried to keep the disappointment from her own voice.

Taryn smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time, that Susan had seen. "It is."

Jack and The Doctor returned to find the women hugging. "Be safe – and happy." Susan instructed.

"I will," Taryn promised. "And, Susan, I am so very sorry..."

"Go on, don't miss your chance." Susan put her arms around Jack and held tight, trying to keep one constant in her life from changing.

No more was said as the front door opened and closed, a stream of people exiting to leave Jack and Susan alone. They looked at one another and around the empty room before turning to go down the hall.

**Ta-duh! Finished! Thank you for flying SusanJo Airlines; did you enjoy your trip? Please place all seats in the original upright position and turn in all comment cards at the door. Really – this is the last chapter, but not the last of these characters. They already have a sequel in the works – so, stay tuned for "Three Weddings and Agent Andy".**

**Heh. As I was writing this, the waitress asked if a picture I had of John Barrowman was Joey's dad. If only! LOLZ. Made my night, though... **


End file.
